ThunderCats: Sword of Kings
by KyleK12
Summary: AU2011 Series. Being raised in the slums of Thundera, Lion-O is suddenly whisked off to live his life as a prince. But not everything is as it seems. LiChee.
1. Chapter I: The Ring

**This is my first attempt at a ThunderCats story, please be gentle. This is also an AU fic of the 2011 series. Tell me what you think of it!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter I: The Ring**_

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE RING!" the announcer, a jaguar, boomed out as the crowd cheered on. All the regular spectators were there, as well as some newcomers. For Panthro, running the operation was easy: always bring in new fighters and make sure the Thundera's city guard didn't get wind of it.

Unfortunately, the latter could not be said as well for the Clerics.

From his private box, Panthro saw sitting in the stands a figure dressed in the white cloak and lion mask that all Clerics were known to wear. This was strange. Clerics never got involved with something like the Ring. Why was this Cleric here? As long as he didn't get in the way of his business, Panthro couldn't care less.

Everything went as it normally did. Cats gambled on the fights, a few small brawls were started but then quickly quelled, and many cheered as their favorite fighters won. But they all knew this was just the pre-show. Panthro knew that what they really came for was coming up.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN NOW IS THE TIME YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITNG FOR!" At that the crowd began to cheer. "IT'S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT! PRESENTING THE CHALLENGER! THE RISING STAR OF THE RING, TORR!"

Panthro heard the cheers as a young male ThunderCat emerged from the tunnel outside of the main arena. He raised both fists in the air as the crowd cheered on.

"HE'S QUITE THE FIGHTER FOLKS! BUT DOES HE HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST THE REIGNING CHAMPION!" The cheering became louder. "PRESENTING OUR CHAMPION! THE KING OF THE RING! THE FIGHTER TO END ALL FIGHTERS! LION-O!"

As their champion appeared, the crowd went wild! The cheering became thunderous as they chanted his name over and over again. The lines for the bookies were crowded as everyone knew that Lion-O was the cat to bet on. That was when Panthro saw the Cleric stand, and the old cat knew what he was there for.

"Cleric or not," Panthro mumbled, "if he messes with my best fighter, he doesn't leave here alive!"

* * *

Lion-O knew this wasn't easy, it never was. If Panthro sent Torr to try and take Lion-O's place as champion, that meant he was formidable. He heard the mumblings. People believed that Lion-O was invincible. That no fighter could ever beat him. They were wrong. He was mortal just like everyone else, but they didn't have to know that.

Lion-O sized up his latest opponent: tall and well built, but Lion-O knew that he could be brought down like any fighter. The referee came, got the two to shake hands, and the fight began. Torr lunged forward as Lion-O rolled out of the way. That was an amateurish mistake; never seek out your opponent.

Torr lunged again and Lion-O struck, the lion's fist making contact with his opponent's face. The young ThunderCat stumbled but quickly recovered, this time trying to grapple the champion. But Lion-O was quick, avoiding the challenger while delivering a quick kick to his midsection and followed with a sucker punch that sent his opponent sprawling.

Torr slowly rose, fatigued setting in, and Lion-O knew he had him. The ThunderCat lunged at the champion again, and Lion-O landed one last punch and Torr went down for the count. Just like that, the crowd went wild. They chanted their champion's name as the referee came and declared Lion-O the winner.

* * *

Panthro watched the Cleric leave the stands as Lion-O left the arena and went into the tunnel. He didn't like this, something was definitely up. But the old panther knew what was happening. They had finally found him.

* * *

Lion-O was in his private room, one of the perks of being champion. He wouldn't be here if Panthro hadn't found him when he was a baby. The old panther had taught the young lion everything about fighting. But he knew that he wouldn't fight forever, he would soon retire and take over the Ring. That was how it was supposed to be.

There was a quick knock on his door before it opened. "Hey Lion-O!" twin voices greeted. WilyKat and WilyKit soon ran into the room, both carrying their own load of full pouches full of coins.

Lion-O quickly scooped the two up in a hug as they came close to him. "Am I glad to see you two," he said. "How'd we do today?" When Lion-O met the young twins, they were young pick-pockets whom he had caught trying to steal from one of Panthro's favorite customers. That gave him the chance to make a little side business for himself. During his fights, WilyKat and WilyKit would pick-pocket as many as they could until Lion-O won, then the three would split everything evenly. Lion-O didn't know if Panthro knew about this, but as long as it didn't interfere with business, the old cat probably couldn't care less.

"We made it big!" WilyKat said.

"They came here with a lot of coin," WilyKit said. "They always do when you fight Lion-O."

"That's because they know I always win," Lion-O said. "C'mon, let's split the take."

The two wilys emptied out the pouches as the three began splitting their take. Before long, three organized stacks of gold coins were arranged. "Look at all this gold," Kat said before turning to his sister. "See Kit, soon we'll have enough to use to find El Dara!"

Lion-O had heard this one before, the two saving their takes to earn enough to try and find the lost city of El Dara, said to be home to the greatest of treasures and riches beyond measure. Why the twins wanted to find this mythical city, only they knew.

The lion discreetly took two coins from his own pile and grab one of the pouches. "Hey guys," he said, pretending to dig around the pouch and took out his two coins. "I found two more. Catch!" He tossed the two coins and the twins caught them.

Kat and Kit exchanged looks. "Are you sure Lion-O?" Kit asked.

"Of course I'm sure," Lion-O said. "Why don't you two use them to buy yourselves some Candy Fruit?"

That instantly put smiles on the two young ThunderCats' faces. "Thanks, Lion-O!" they chorused before they ran off.

Lion-O smiled as he hid away his share. "That was awfully generous of you."

Lion-O quickly turned toward the intruder. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful cheetah girl. The golden hair with black spots flowed down past her shoulders. Her ruby colored eyes went perfectly with the rust colored marks around her eyes. The sight of her took the young lion's breath away.

"Y-y-you…you're not supposed to be back here," he stammered. That had never happened to Lion-O.

"Really?" the cheetah asked innocently as she walked into his room. "Not even for a…_fan_?"

Lion-O gulped as she huskily uttered that last word and he couldn't keep the blush off his face. Even if he was a great fighter, Lion-O never had any luck with women. It seems that when they got to know him outside the Ring, they wanted nothing to do with him.

"Yes," Lion-O said with more bravado "not even for a fan."

"That's too bad," the cheetah said, pretending to be disappointed. "Oh well, I tried." She seemed to be sizing him up. "You're different than I thought you would be."

That sudden statement surprised Lion-O. He wanted to say something, but the cheetah was already out the door before he knew it. "What was that all about?" he asked himself confused.


	2. Chapter II: The Clerics

**Disclaimer****: I do not own ThunderCats! If I did, Cheetara would have ended up with Lion-O!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter II: The Clerics**_

"Hurry up with the clean up!" Panthro's booming voice echoed throughout the Ring. "I want this place spotless before we open up for tonight."

Lion-O watched as the attendants scrubbed the arena floor and swept the stands as he followed Panthro in their silent inspection. The arena tended to be slightly covered in sweat and some blood after a fight (and with good reason), which made it hard to keep clean.

"I have something special planned tonight for you, Lion-O," the old panther said enthusiastically. "I heard about these twin dogs that make an excellent tag-team duo, so you'll be fighting both of them tonight."

Lion-O didn't even hear the words being said to him. His thoughts were still on the strange cheetah girl that tried to barge herself in his room two days ago. The young lion couldn't help but think back to what she said. _"You're different than I thought you would be."_ What did she know? And who was she for that matter?

"I can picture it now," Panthro was saying. "'The reigning champ defending his title from the terrible twosome!' That will bring in a lot of spectators. Not to mention the load of coin they'll have." He had begun to notice that the young cat didn't seem to be listening. "Lion-O! Pay attention, this is important! I'm talking about our livelihood here!"

That seemed to snap Lion-O out of his thoughts. "Sorry," he said, "I had something on my mind."

"Like what?" Panthro asked. Nothing ever distracted Lion-O when they were talking about business. Something must be up.

Lion-O seemed hesitant; something Panthro also knew was not like the young lion. "It happened two days ago," he began, "after my match against Torr. This cheetah girl barged herself into my room. The weird thing was she seemed to know me. She said something about me being different than she thought I was."

Panthro said nothing at first, but Lion-O saw something in his mentor's eyes. "There was a Cleric here that night," he admitted. "The cheetah may have been that Cleric. She was watching you fight and then disappeared after the match was over."

That brought even more confusion to Lion-O, and a little worry, too. "A Cleric? Why would a Cleric be interested in me?"

Panthro closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke. "Lion-O," he said, "I have raised you since you were a young cub, and in that time I have come to love you as if you were my own son." He turned away shamefully. "But there are many secrets that I have kept from you."

This surprised Lion-O. Panthro had never kept anything from him. "What kind of secrets?"

Panthro turned back and Lion-O saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. He sighed. "Lion-O…it all started when—"

"LION-O!"

"PANTHRO!"

The two cats turned to see WilyKat and WilyKit racing down the stands and into the arena. The two ThunderCat children managed to avoid colliding with the two older cats.

"What is it?" Lion-O asked. "Is something wrong?"

The twins were panting, their breathing labored. WilyKat spoke first. "Clerics…City Guard…"

WilyKit finished for him. "They're…heading this way!"

"WHAT?" both cats shouted at once.

"That's not all," WilyKat said. "They have General Grune with them!"

Lion-O felt his throat got dry. General Grune. Grune the Destroyer. Grune the Butcher. He was coming here. Everyone in Thundera knew who Grune was. Some say that he once slaughtered an entire contingent of lizards single-handedly with only his mace.

It took Panthro a second to respond to that. "Everyone listen up," his voice boomed, "we got Clerics and City Guard on the way! Drop everything and get out NOW!"

"That will not be necessary," an elderly voice called out.

Everyone turned to see three Clerics, four members of the City Guard, and Grune the Destroyer himself. Leading them was the eldest of the three Clerics was an old jaguar with a long white beard carrying a wooden staff. Next to him was Grune the Destroyer with full armor and his mace strapped to his back. Though Grune was a saber tooth, he seemed to have one of his fangs missing.

The old jaguar approached the four slowly with the assistance of his staff. He eyed the largest cat amongst them. "Hello, Panthro."

The panther nodded. "It's been a long time, Jaga."

"That's _Lord _Jaga to you traitor," Grune said, pointing menacingly at the large panther.

Lion-O saw a sarcastic grin appear on his mentor's face. "Grune, good to see you've managed to keep the other fang."

The general growled as he reached for his mace. "Calm down, Grune," Jaga reached out to the saber tooth, "we do not need to resort to violence."

"But Lord Jaga—" Grune began, but a stern glare from the elder Cleric silenced the Destroyer. This surprised Lion-O; he never would have expected a mighty general like Grune to be intimidated by an old cat.

Jaga turned toward the panther. "We can do this peacefully Panthro, but only if you give us your cooperation."

Panthro gave a growling sneer. "How's _this_ for 'cooperation'!" He then took his nunchaku (which seemed to appear from nowhere) and lashed out at the old Cleric. Jaga gracefully evaded Panthro's attack. Grune then took his mace and began his attack. The saber tooth swung at a downward strike which Panthro evaded. Grune then faced the full on force of the panther's nunchaku to his face.

"Lion-O," Panthro called out, "take the kids and get out!"

The young lion grabbed both kittens and scrambled out of the arena. Jaga noted their retreat as the City Guard began their fight against Panthro. He motioned for one of the clerics. "Bring him to me, unharmed if you can."

"Yes, Lord Jaga," a feminine voice replied from behind the lion mask before the Cleric ran off after the lion.

* * *

Lion-O's mind raced as he ran down the hallways of the Ring with WilyKat and WilyKit in his arms. What was going on? Why would the Clerics be here? How did Panthro know the Head Cleric and Grune the Destroyer?

It wasn't long before they had reached the rear entrance. "Here," Lion-O said, placing the twins down, "we can get out through here." A whistling sound echoed through the halls. Lion-O kicked the door open. "You two go ahead, I'll keep whoever's coming busy."

"But, Lion-O—"

"We don't have time to argue. I promise, I will find you after this is over." Lion-O turned to see a Cleric that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "GO NOW!"

The kittens ran as the lion stayed to fight off the Cleric. Lion-O charged as he swung his fist…and watched as the Cleric seem to disappear, the whistle once again echoing through the halls. Lion-O stumbled for a bit, but managed to recover his footing.

Lion-O kept an eye out for the Cleric…and felt something strike his midsection as a golden blur ran past him. The fighting champion doubled over in pain, but he knew what he was fighting against. Somehow, this Cleric was able to run faster than all the cats in Thundera.

He heard the whistle again, and Lion-O prepared for what was coming next. He saw the yellow blur and reached out toward it. The lion caught the Cleric's Bo staff before it could make contact with his solar plexus. This caught the Cleric by surprise as Lion-O took the advantage.

The lion quickly kneed the Cleric in the gut and he heard a gasp of pain. That was when Lion-O wretched the staff from his opponents hands and struck the Cleric with the staff, knocking the lion mask off.

Lion-O gasped as he saw familiar golden hair and rust colored facial marks. "You!"

The cheetah girl took advantage of his shock. She performed a sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet and dropping the staff. Lion-O hit the floor as the cheetah caught her staff and gave a powerful strike to his forehead.

After that, Lion-O only knew the darkness of sleep.


	3. Chapter III: Cheetara

**Disclaimer****: Like I said last chapter, I do not own ThunderCats!**

**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**

**Chapter III: Cheetara**

_Lion-O opened his eyes to see the snow slowly falling around him. He looked around where he stood and saw an endless white field where the gray sky ended. The lion wondered how he got here. The last thing he remembered was the Ring…and then the Clerics came._

_The crunch of feet walking on snow caught his attention and he turned toward the intruder. A young woman, a lioness by the looks of her, stood only a few feet away from him. She was dressed in white robes and a silver crown adorned her brow._

_The lioness spoke softly. "Anyone can tell you truths Lion-O, but they can also tell you lies. You must decide who is telling what."_

_This confounded Lion-O. "Who are you? What are you talking about? Why are you telling me this?"_

"_It is not yet in my power to tell you," the woman said. "Until then, you must be on your guard." She approached Lion-O and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Now you must wake up."_

* * *

Lion-O awoke with a start, bolting up shirtless from his bed. For a moment, he believed everything to be a nightmare. But that was when he realized that this was not the straw mattress of his bed, nor was he in his room back at the Ring.

Lion-O looked around to see the extravagance around him: the oak bedframe, the silk bed sheets, the feather mattress and pillows, the linen curtains lining the windows, and the ivory pillars along the walls. The room looked like it belonged to one of Thundera's noblemen.

A door opened. "Oh good," a familiar feminine voice said, "you're finally awake."

Lion-O saw the cheetah girl enter the room carrying a bundle of clothes with her. "You!" he gasped, jumping out of bed. But one look down the length of his own body had him quickly tugging the bed sheets and wrapping them around his waist. "What did you do to me...and why am I naked?"

The cheetah girl smirked and a slight giggle escaped her lips. "Once we returned from the Ring, we had to get them of so that the healers could clean your wounds…not to mention your clothes stank."

"I'm a fighter," Lion-O argued. "Did you think they would smell like roses?" He spared a look to the clothes she carried. "Are those for me?"

"Of course," she said. The cheetah then began to lay out the clothes on his bed. Along with black undergarments, he was also given a blue top with pants that was a darker shade of blue.

After she was done, Lion-O glared at her expectantly. "Do you mind?"

"I was instructed not to leave you alone after you woke up." As the cheetah said this, there was an amused glint in her eyes that seemed almost lecherous.

Lion-O couldn't help but blush. "Could you at least turn around then?" he asked, exasperation filling his tone.

The cheetah chuckled as she complied with his request. Once he was sure she would keep her back towards him, Lion-O dropped the sheet from his waist and quickly began to dress in these new clothes.

"Hey," Lion-O said as he pulled the pants up, "do you think you could tell me where we 'returned' to?"

"Cheetara."

"What?"

"My name is Cheetara, not 'Hey'."

Lion-O was annoyed. "Okay, _Cheetara_, where exactly are we?"

"Why, the Royal Palace, of course."

This surprised Lion-O. In all his years of living in Thundera, Lion-O had never seen the palace; he never thought he would live to ever set foot in it either. "Why exactly would I be here in the first place?"

"Lord Jaga has said that he would tell you that."

As Lion-O finished putting his shirt on, he couldn't help but sneer. "You mean the old cat that destroyed my life."

Cheetara quickly turned back. She was clearly angry. "We do not have to defend our actions!" she said sternly. "What we did, we did for the good of Thundera!"

Lion-O felt his anger surge. "Really?" he almost yelled. "Then tell me, what is good for Thundera?"

"The continuation of Leo's bloodline on the throne."

Lion-O saw the old cat Jaga and Grune the Destroyer enter the room…and it took all his restraint not to try and kill them both. "You both have some nerve showing your faces to me."

"You might want to watch what you say, boy," Grune threatened.

"And if I don't?" Lion-O growled. He wasn't afraid. He'd faced opponents bigger than Grune, and he wiped the floor with all of them.

Grune seemed to reach for his mace until Jaga pulled it back. "Leave us, Grune."

"But, Lord Jaga—"

"Leave, Grune."

The saber tooth sneered at Lion-O before storming out of the room. "Allow me to apologize for the general, your highness," Jaga said. "Sometimes his anger gets the better of him."

Lion-O was silent for a moment. Something about what the old cat said. "What did you call me?"

Jaga seemed confused for a moment. "Ah, yes," he said. "Forgive me, you haven't been told the truth yet."

"What truth?" Lion-O asked.

"Lion-O," Cheetara addressed him, her tone soft, "how much did Panthro tell you about your parents?"

His eyes widened at that. Lion-O had almost forgotten that his mentor had fought Grune. "Panthro…is he…"

"Panthro has escaped," Jaga said. "We do not know where. Now, would you please answer Cheetara's question."

Lion-O was hesitant. "I did ask Panthro about my parents when I was little," he said. "He told me that he found me out on the outskirts of Thundera, hidden amongst some bushes. He had thought my parents were ambushed by bandits and they managed to hide me before they were killed."

Jaga stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I see, interesting."

"Can either of you tell me what's going on?" Lion-O asked annoyed.

Cheetara rested a hand on his shoulder. "Lion-O, this may be hard to hear but you need to know the truth. Everything Panthro told you about your past was a lie."

"What?" the lion gasped. "What do you mean?"

"Lion-O," Jaga said, "Panthro was one of Thundera's greatest generals…that is, until he betrayed us. With the help of the Lizards, he stole you away from your crib shortly after you were born before your father could arrive with reinforcements."

"My father?" Lion-O asked in a daze. "He's still alive?"

"Not only alive my boy," Jaga said, "he is a king. You are Prince Lion-O, son of King Claudus and Queen Leona, the Heir Apparent to the Throne of Thundera, and our future king."

At that moment, Lion-O felt his mouth dry up and his legs suddenly turned into rubber. He felt himself walking backwards until he sat on the edge of the bed. "No…that can't be true."

"It is my dear boy," Jaga said. "Your mother, Queen Leona, went out to her parents' estate outside Thundera to give birth to you there. It was reported that there were…complications and that she died at child birth."

"May the gods watch over the soul of Her Majesty," Cheetara prayed.

"My mother…is dead?" Lion-O asked solemnly.

"Yes, Lion-O," Cheetara said, rubbing his back soothingly. The lion couldn't help but feel his heart beating faster. "I'm very sorry you had to find out this way."

"Some time after your birth, Panthro had come with a small army of Lizard soldiers," Jaga said. "King Claudus, your father, was already on his way with reinforcements. But by the time he arrived, General Panthro had already stolen you away. We believed that he had taken you to General Slithe, the leader of the Lizard armies. After years of searching, we found the two of you here in Thundera's slums. We of course had to retrieve you before Panthro found out about our plans and your life would be in danger."

Lion-O sat on the bed, unable to comprehend what he heard. The only thing running through his mind was what the woman in white had said in his dreams. _"Anyone can tell you truths Lion-O, but they can also tell you lies. You must decide who is telling what."_

"How do I know what you're telling me is true?" Lion-O asked, making eye contact with the Head Cleric. "Why should I believe anything you're telling me?"

Though the question was directed at Jaga, Cheetara answered from her place next to the lion. "I know this all seems hard to believe Lion-O, but what Jaga says is true. After all these years, you have returned to take your rightful place as heir to the throne. This is a miracle from the gods!"

Lion-O said nothing. How could he? "I will leave you to your thoughts, Your Highness," Jaga said. "I will leave Cheetara at your service. I assure you, any task you give her she will perform without hesitation." The old Cleric then departed from the room, leaving the two cats alone.

"Are you going to be alright Li—I mean, Your Highness?" There seemed to be concern in Cheetara's voice.

"You tell me," Lion-O said, his glare directed to the cheetah next to him. "If everything you knew turned out to be a lie, that all this time you were someone else, would you be alright?"

"Honestly…no. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't try to move on from all this."

Lion-O said nothing for a while. "What about my father, where is he in all of this?"

"He's in the Bird Kingdom for a diplomatic mission," Cheetara said. "We sent word of your return, he should return in a few days alongside your brother."

Lion-O was confused for a bit. "My brother?" he asked. "Oh, you mean Prince Tygra, the Fal—"

Cheetara quickly placed her hand over his mouth, silencing him before he could finish. "It's not wise to say that name here in the palace," she warned him.

Lion-O nodded as she removed her hand. A moment of realization hit him quickly. "Jaga said that you would do anything I asked you to do right?"

Cheetara seemed a bit nervous. "That is the basics of what he said," she answered honestly.

"Good," Lion-O said, "there's something important I need you to do."


	4. Chapter IV: New Home

**Disclaimer****: I still don't own ThunderCats!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter IV: New Home**_

It was easy for WilyKat and WilyKit to steal the two apples; they waited for the right moment when both the merchant and customers were not looking. It was at that time when the kittens discreetly grabbed the apples while they passed the stand, and no one seemed to have seen a thing. They walked calmly down the street until they ducked behind the first alley they could get to.

"See," Kat said as they sat behind some barrels, "I told you we wouldn't get caught!"

"Yeah," Kit said as they began eating, "but we stopped stealing for food after we met Lion-O."

It's been three days since Grune and the Clerics attacked the Ring, and even though Lion-O promised them he would find him, they had not seen him since he told them to run. This worried the young kittens. Was he captured by the Clerics? Or worse, was he dead? That last thought sent a wave of dread through the both of them.

WilyKit couldn't help but be worried. "Lion-O's gonna come look for us, right? I mean, he is okay…isn't he?"

"Of course he is!" WilyKat said cheerfully. "Lion-O's the best fighter not just in Thundera, but all of Third Earth! He's not gonna let a bunch of wimpy Clerics stop him!"

"Hey, I resent that!"

The kittens turned to see a cheetah girl wearing a brown mid-drift top with matching pants. The sight of her confused the Wileys. Who was she? Why was she here?

"You two are WilyKat and WilyKit right?" the cheetah asked.

"Yeah," they both said in unison.

"Good," the cheetah girl nodded. "My name is Cheetara, I am a Cleric in ser—" The rest of her statement was cut short as an apple core struck her in the face, a yelp escaping her throat.

"Run, Kit!" WilyKat said, dragging his sister with him.

They heard the Cleric call out for them to wait, but they knew better then to look back. Some legends say that Clerics could control minds just by looking at someone. The Wileys froze in their tracks as they saw a gold blur past them and the Cleric appeared before their path.

"Will you please let me explain?" the Cleric asked in a desperate plea.

"Why should we?" WilyKit asked in anger.

"Yeah," Kat exclaimed, "especially after what you did to Lion-O."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," the Cleric said annoyed. "Lion-O sent me here to find you. I've been searching for you two for three days!"

"No way!" Kat screamed. "You're lying!"

"Yeah!" Kit said. "Lion-O would have come to find us himself!"

The Cleric sighed. "Listen, His Highness is preoccupied with lessons at the Royal Palace to—"

"What are you talking about?" Kit asked confused. "You said Lion-O sent you, not 'His Highness'."

The Wileys saw her eyebrow twitch. "That's what I said, I was sent to find you by _Prince_ Lion-O." The kittens' eyes seemed almost ready to bulge out. "Listen, Lion-O told me that if I saw you, I was supposed to ask you something."

The twins exchanged looks. "Ask us what?" they both asked.

The Cleric seemed deep in thought for a moment. "He wanted me to ask 'how the search for El-Dara was going?'"

The kittens exchanged another glance. Lion-O was the only one they ever told about their search for El-Dara. This Cleric had to be telling the truth. "So where are we going?" Kat asked.

* * *

Sitting in the library of the Royal Palace, Lion-O yawned as the private tutor Jaga had assigned to him droned on about the ancient times of pre-Thundera history. "Even though the knowledge of how the Eye of Thundera came to be was lost," the tutor said in a monotone voice, "we do know that it was essential to the completion of the Sword of Omens. It was not long before Leo used the sword to overthrow Mumm-Ra during the Great Mutiny."

The tutor turned from his chalkboard to regard Lion-O. "Do you have any questions before we move on, Your Highness?"

"I do have one question," the lion said. "You said that knowledge on the Eye of Thundera was lost. How can that be? I mean, knowledge like that can't just disappear overnight. Someone has to know where it came from?"

"You raise an interesting point, Your Highness," the tutor commended. "Leo or many of his associates may have come across knowledge of the Eye of Thundera, but that information may have been misplaced or perhaps even lost. Perhaps the Clerics have the information you refer to, but they are a very secretive order and may not tell us."

The tutor returned to the board. "Now, let us move on to the establishment of Thundera. After Mumm-Ra's fall, Leo led many of the—"

"LION-O!"

The lion in question froze as he heard the familiar cheerful cries of the Wileys. He turned to see them approach with Cheetara following close behind. As they came close, Lion-O rose from his seat and scooped them up in a hug with a huge child-like smile on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?" the tutor said perplexed. He turned to Cheetara. "Lord Jaga shall hear of this intrusion, Cleric! Explain this!"

"These children are honored guests of Prince Lion-O," Cheetara said, meeting eye-to-eye with the Cleric. "Perhaps you can bring an end to this lesson early so that His Highness can converse with his guests."

The tutor reluctantly left, giving a humph as he did. But that did little to trouble the mood of Lion-O and the kittens. "We're so glad you're alright, Lion-O!" Kit said as they broke the hug.

"He's better than alright!" Kat exclaimed. "He's a prince! How come you didn't tell us that, Lion-O?"

"Trust me," he said, trying to remain jovial, "I was just as surprised as you were."

Kit looked at him worriedly. "You don't believe what the Clerics said about Panthro do you?"

"Yeah," Kat said, "they said Panthro was a traitor. That's not true right?"

Lion-O looked to Cheetara for some kind of guidance, but even she didn't know what to say. The kittens were as loyal to Panthro as they were to the fighting champion turned prince. Besides, Lion-O didn't even know if he should believe what was being said about his mentor and father-figure.

"Let's not worry about that now," Lion-O said. "Why don't we get some lunch?"

That perked up the Wileys and it wasn't long before they had set up a picnic lunch in the royal garden. WilyKat and WilyKit insisted that Cheetara join them, and Lion-O couldn't help but agree with their request. It's not that he wasn't grateful for her help finding his friends, but he couldn't forget how she was involved taking him away from his old life. He couldn't help but feel some kind of resentment.

But that didn't stop him from seeing how beautiful she was.

"You okay, Lion-O?" WilyKat asked, snapping the prince out of his thoughts. He looked around to see them enjoying their lunch.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something." He then returned to eating his lunch alongside the three.

"This is great," WilyKit said. "I wish we could do this every day!"

"Who says we can't?" Lion-O asked.

The twins shared a glance. "Well," Kat said, "you're a prince, Lion-O, the future king. Why would you still want to be friends with us?"

Lion-O couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Prince or not, I'm still the same Lion-O. That's why I want the two of you to live here with me."

Cheetara stifled a gasp while the Wileys couldn't keep their mouths from gaping. "What?" they both asked.

"I want the two of you to stay here with me in the palace," Lion-O said boldly. "There's no way I'm sending the two of you back out into the slums alone. Consider this place your new home!"

All the kittens could do was launch themselves in a group hug with the lion and squeal their thanks. Cheetara, however, only stared at them with disbelief. She knew there was something different about Lion-O. The young Cleric knew that growing-up in the slums somehow made her prince generous regardless of status. But she never would have seen this coming.

"WilyKit, WilyKat," Cheetara said, "do you mind if I speak with Lion-O privately for a moment."

"Sure," Kat said, before lightly tagging his sister. "Tag! You're it, Kit!" He ran off as his sister chased after him, beginning their game.

As the twins went off laughing away, Cheetara turned sharply to the Lion-O. "What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean?" Lion-O asked.

"You can't just do that!" the young Cleric exclaimed. "You're a prince, Lion-O, and princes don't invite children from the street to live at the palace. It's just not right."

Lion-O narrowed his eyes. "So, it's right that they go back to the streets and steal just so that they can get a bite to eat."

Cheetara could see that he was upset. "I'm not saying that it's right, but it just isn't royal etiquette."

"You know what?" Lion-O said, annoyed by the beautiful cheetah. "I don't give a damn about 'royal etiquette'."

Cheetara wanted to say something, anything to get the prince to change his mind. But something told her that his heart was set on letting the Wileys stay here. She couldn't help but feel proud of Lion-O.

She couldn't help but feel a lot of things.

A sudden thunderous melody played outside the palace walls. "What was that?" Lion-O asked.

"That sound means the Royal Escort has arrived," Cheetara said. "King Claudus and Prince Tygra have returned!"


	5. Chapter V: Omens

**Am I the only one who hums the old 80's ThunderCats theme song while writing these fics...No, just me? Alrighty then! Just like last time, I still don't own ThunderCats!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter V: Omens**_

After having the maids escort the Wileys off to their rooms, Cheetara quickly directed Lion-O to the throne room before they went their own ways. When asked why she wasn't going with him, the cheetah had said that she had Cleric duties to perform but that he would see her in the throne room.

It wasn't long before Lion-O was the first that reached a grand hallway outlined by pillars, at the end was the throne room. Under the banner of the ThunderCats, alongside four other smaller thrones, was the Throne of Thundera, where the first Lord of the ThunderCats Leo established Thundera. In his old life, it meant nothing to Lion-O. It was just some fancy chair for a king. But now he realized that as future king, he would soon sit on that throne.

Footsteps echoed through the room as Lion-O turned to see Jaga, Grune, and a few Clerics enter with two unfamiliar figures. The first was a tiger wearing royal attire that seemed to be sizing him up; this must be Prince Tygra.

But the other figure seemed to be as big as Grune, a huge lion in kingly attire, a cape flowing behind him. This was King Claudus. The king seemed to stare at Lion-O curiously before walking slowly towards him. It took all of the young lion's will to keep himself composed as the king stood before him.

"You…" It was strange seeing a king struggling to get the words out. "You look like your mother."

"Um…Your Majes—" Lion-O suddenly remembered who he was. "Father—"

It was so sudden that the lost prince didn't even see it coming. The king had brought him into a father's embrace. "My son," he had whispered, "Lion-O, you have returned. After all these years, you have returned."

Lion-O didn't know what to do. Before this, Panthro had been the closest thing to a father he ever had. But now things are different, this king, this Lord of the ThunderCats, was his father. All Lion-O did was return the embrace.

For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

Claudus soon broke the embrace, he suddenly seemed embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I know this all must seem confusing."

"It did," Lion-O said, "but now…now I understand."

"Yes," Claudus nodded, "since Leo first established our kingdom, our bloodline has served as the Kings of Thundera for countless generations. When you were lost," Claudus looked away for some time, "I feared for the future." The king signaled for one of the Clerics. "But with your return, my fears have been lifted."

The Cleric that approached seemed to be carrying a steel box that bore the red and black symbol of the ThunderCats. All that Lion-O noticed was the Cleric's eyes. The same fuchsia eyes that belonged to a certain cheetah girl winked at him from behind the Cleric's mask.

_Cheetara!_

"Within this box is the Sword of Omens," Claudus spoke, drawing Lion-O away from his thoughts. "This sword allowed Leo to overthrow Mumm-Ra during the Great Mutiny and establish Thundera. Since your disappearance, the sword has been…inactive."

As if on cue, Cheetara (at least that's who Lion-O thought it was) opened the steel box. Instead of a sword as Lion-O expected, he saw a dagger with a jewel, a red circle with a black slit in the middle making it resemble a cat's eye, between the hilt and blade. Could this really be the legendary Sword of Omens?

Lion-O reached out to the dagger's hilt. "No offense, but this doesn't—" There were gasps all around as soon as Lion-O touched the hilt, the jewel began to glow and the dagger began to change. The blade grew in length and the guard extended. It seemed almost instantaneous as the mere dagger became the legendary Sword of Omens.

Claudus turned toward the Head Cleric. "Jaga, how…how is this happening?"

Jaga himself seemed perplexed. "I…" he seemed unable to get the words out, something unusual for a Cleric. "I am not sure, Your Majesty. How both the sword and the Eye of Thundera themselves work has always been a mystery."

Lion-O didn't pay attention to any of this. All he could here was the strange humming coming from the sword. Before Lion-O even knew what he was doing, he had already put the sword's guard at eye level. That was when everyone noticed the Eye of Thundera began to glow brighter.

"Lion-O!" the Cleric, definitely Cheetara, exclaimed as she attempted to take the sword away. But before she could even get close, a blue bolt of energy was fired from the blade and stunned the cheetah.

Jaga was able to catch her before she fell. "Everyone stay away," the Head Cleric warned, "the sword is out of control."

They were all forced to watch as the lion's teal eyes began to glow behind the sword's guard.

_Countless images flashed through Lion-O's mind, but three he saw clearly. A black pyramid surrounded by a whirlwind of sand. A city in flames, and in the center were two dark figures fighting with swords. The last was of an old decrepit figure dressed in a red cloak._

"_THE WAR STONE WILL BE MINE!"_

Lion-O groaned as he opened his eyes. He saw Cheetara unconscious in Jaga's arms and the Sword of Omens shrinking to its dagger form as he felt himself be lifted up to his feet. "Alright," an unfamiliar voice said, "there we go. You okay now?"

The lion turned to see that Prince Tygra was the one holding him up. "Yes," he said, "thank you…brother."

"Lion-O," Jaga said, "can you tell us what happened?"

What could he say? How could Lion-O describe something he had never felt before. "The sword," he said, "it showed me some kind of vision."

The Head Cleric's eyes went wide. "Sight beyond sight," he whispered.

"What exactly did you see?" Claudus asked, his voice booming with authority.

Lion-O wanted to tell what he saw, but something was stopping him. "I…I don't remember," he lied.

Jaga rose, Cheetara nestled in his arms. "I shall take Cheetara to the healers," he said, turning to Lion-O, "you should probably see them as well, Your Highness."

"I say we should see this _street rat_ out of the palace," Grune snarled. "He's dangerous; did you see what he did with the Sword of Omens?"

Lion-O released himself from Tygra's hold to argue, but his father had beaten him to it. "That is enough, Grune!" Claudus growled. "You may be my oldest friend, but Lion-O is my son and your future king! You will show him the respect he deserves!"

The saber tooth's hand curled into a fist. "As you wish, My King." Grune then stormed out of the throne room.

Claudus turned towards his son. "Jaga may be right, you should probably see the healers. Who knows what those visions did to you?"

"I'll be fine," Lion-O said, "but Cheetara needs help, right away."

The lion saw Tygra narrow his eyes at him, as if even speaking the cheetah's name was a crime in itself. Jaga had already left with the Clerics with Cheetara in his arms and one of the Clerics placing the dagger-sized Sword of Omens back into the box.

"What will you do with the sword?" Lion-O asked.

"It shall be returned to the Royal Armory and rest aside with the Claw Shield," Claudus said. "But enough about the sword. In two days' time, there will be a royal feast celebrating your return. All of Thundera's nobility shall come to greet you as their future king."

Claudus rested a hand on Lion-O. "But that is for later," he said. "Now I shall tell you of the history of our bloodline, which bears the glory of our ancestors."

"You two go ahead," Tygra said. "I'll go talk to Grune, maybe see if I can talk some sense into him."

With that, the young tiger was off. As he left, Lion-O saw his father's face turn grim. Something told him that his father didn't like Tygra spending too much time with the Destroyer.

"Come, Lion-O," he said, "let us start with your mother and me." Claudus took his son down a hallway lined with paintings. One painting was of the king and his deceased wife. "This was me and Leona before you were born."

Lion-O was almost unable to contain the gasp that threatened to come out. He had seen his mother before, except it wasn't in some painting.

He had seen his mother as the woman in white in his dream.


	6. Chapter VI: What you cannot earn

**Disclaimer****: I don't own ThunderCats, but that doesn't stop me from wishing that I did.**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter VI: What you cannot earn…**_

Grune slammed the door to his private quarters in the palace. He was lucky to have left the throne room before they had a chance to see the extent of his rage. How could Claudus still allow that street rat to stay in the palace, especially after that catastrophe with the sword?

But within that anger was worry. The boy, Lion-O, he said the sword showed him a vision. Grune had heard the stories. Growing up, parents told their children the legends and fables that told of the Sword of Omens, on how it could show its bearer the future or something that's occurring out of sight.

What did Lion-O see? Did he see the future? Did he see the _truth_ of his so called "disappearance"?

Did he see where Grune the Destroyer's _true_ allegiances lie?

The saber tooth quickly closed the drapes and ensured that the door was locked. He went to his desk and pulled open a drawer and then pried open the false bottom, revealing the crystal. A perfect purple sphere, no ridges or edges, lay undisturbed until Grune picked it up.

"Mumm-Ra," Grune said, the crystal began to glow, "heed my call. Your servant brings you news."

The crystal hovered at the Destroyer's words. It began to glow brightly as it floated to the center of the room. It then projected the image of a red cloaked hunched figure.

"General Grune," the figure rasped, "what news do you bring?"

"There has been a development with Prince Lion-O, Lord Mumm-Ra," Grune said. "He was presented with the Sword of Omens today."

"That is expected for every future king of Thundera," Mumm-Ra said. "What of it?"

Grune was hesitant, who knew how his master would react to this? "He used Sight Beyond Sight, My Lord. The sword showed him some kind of vision."

Mumm-Ra gave out a low growl that sent fear through the Destroyer. His master may be far off, but he still feared the power that the ancient mummy commands.

"What did he see, Grune?" Mumm-Ra asked impatiently. "What does he know?"

"He claims that he does not remember what he saw," Grune said, "but this may have been a lie."

"You must be wary, General," Mumm-Ra warned. "Your anonymity is not always guaranteed. You must keep the truth with you at all times."

"And what of Prince Lion-O?" Grune asked. "What do you wish for me to do with him?"

Mumm-Ra thought on this silently. "If he becomes a problem, Grune, you are to deal with him in any way you see fit. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra," the Destroyer bowed, "as you command."

The projection disappeared and the gem returned to Grune's hand. There was a moment of panic as a sharp knock on the door echoed through the room. "Who's there?" he asked.

"It's Tygra," the voice of the tiger prince called out. "May I come in?"

The saber tooth quickly placed the gem back in its hiding place and closed the false bottom. "Of course, Tygra, come in."

The doorknob jiggled for a bit. "I can't; the door's locked."

Grune gave a silent curse as he quickly undid his mistake and opened the door. "Sorry, my boy," the Destroyer said, "I wanted to be alone for a bit."

"Sorry," Tygra said as he walked in, "but I was hoping we could talk about what happened in the Throne Room."

Grune narrowed his eyes as he closed the door. "What about it?"

"I mean," Tygra began, "it's not like Lion-O meant what he did. What happened with Cheeta—I mean the Cleric was not on purpose."

"It has nothing to do with what happened in the Throne Room," Grune said. "I am only doing what is best for Thundera, and I know what's best is that _boy_ never takes the throne."

"He's going to," Tygra argued, "Lion-O is father's son!"

"So are you!" Grune countered.

"I was adopted!" Tygra said, though it pained him to say it. "Lion-O is father's _biological_ son, the _legitimate_ heir!"

Grune seemed perplexed. "So that means that he should be our king just like that? Have you forgotten what I have taught you, Tygra? What you cannot earn—"

"—can always be taken." Tygra finished. "I know that, but what does this have to do with anything?"

The Destroyer sighed. "So we found him in the slums, so what? Does that mean we have to just give him the throne? What did he do to earn the Throne of Thundera or the Sword of Omens?"

"He was a fighting champion," Tygra said. "I asked around before we returned. They said that Lion-O fought countless fighters and that he's never lost."

"So he's the champion of the slums, big deal," Grune said. "He'd be no match for our soldiers."

Tygra sighed. "I'm not going to be able to convince you, am I?" The general gave no answer. "Just think about what I said?"

Tygra made to leave, his hand reaching the doorknob. "Tygra?" The young prince turned. "What I said about 'what you cannot earn', that also applies to that Cleric of yours."

The tiger's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Grune smirked. "I've been keeping an eye on our lost prince. It seems Lion-O and a young Cleric—what was her name…Cheetara?—have been spending a lot of time together."

"She's a Cleric," Tygra said, "it makes sense that she'd be guarding a member of the royal family."

Grune's smirk grew. "I didn't know that enjoying a picnic lunch together counted as 'guarding'."

Tygra said nothing as he left the room, slamming the door on his way out. Grune's smile turned sinister. "Too easy," Grune said contently.

* * *

The room was dark and quiet, just how Panthro wanted it to be. For the past three days, this room has been his sanctuary. It kept him away from the worries of the world while he concentrated on one thing: Lion-O.

Panthro didn't know what happened to his charge after Jaga and Grune came to the Ring. He tried to find him after the attack, but he couldn't find a single trace of Lion-O. The old cat began to dread the thought of the lion being in the Royal Palace.

That thought sent more fear into the panther than anything else on Third Earth.

There was a quick knock and the door opened. Panthro raised his hand to block out the light that intruded into his dark sanctuary. A figure stepped in. He wore a dark blue cloak that was held by a clasp, a gold hand with the ThunderCats symbol in the center of the palm.

"I am sorry for the intrusion, General," the figure said. "I have news of Prince Lion-O."

Panthro regarded the cloaked figure. "If you want to keep one of your arms _Grand Master_, you'll tell me what you know now."

The "Grand Master", as he was called, was unfazed by the threat. "We received word from our informant in the Clerics; Prince Lion-O is in the Royal Palace and he is safe."

Panthro snorted. "Yeah, but for how long?"

"There's more," the Grand Master continued. "He used the Sword of Omens. It showed him a vision."

Panthro froze. "What did he see?" he asked hesitantly.

"That is unknown." The Grand Master approached slowly. "This wouldn't be happening if you had followed your orders, Panthro. You were to bring Lion-O to us, but you took him to the _slums_!"

Panthro sneered. "I did what I thought was best for Lion-O."

"You were supposed to do what was best for _Thundera_!" the Grand Master argued. He then sighed. "But, what's done is done. For now, we can only wait and observe. We will make our move when the time is right." He then left and closed the door, leaving Panthro alone in the darkness once again.

* * *

With the stars and the moon lighting the night, Lion-O stood outside the Sanctuary, the home for all of Thundera's Clerics. He stood out there for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do.

It has been several hours since the accident with the Sword of Omens had harmed Cheetara. Despite everyone saying that it wasn't his fault, Lion-O couldn't help but feel guilty about it. The thought that the lion himself had been responsible for her harm had hurt Lion-O more than any fighter ever could.

The door to the Sanctuary opened and Lion-O turned to see Jaga in the doorway. "Is there something you need, Lion-O?"

"I was wondering if I could see Cheetara," Lion-O said. "I wanted to apologize for what happened and see if she's okay."

"I can assure you that she is fine, Your Highness," Jaga said. "She awoke a few hours ago, but she is resting now."

Lion-O gave off a sigh of relief. "Can you at least tell her I came to see her, and that I'm sorry?"

Jaga nodded. "Of course, you have a good night, Your Highness." He closed the door, leaving Lion-O outside alone with his thoughts. It wasn't long before he heard someone approach.

"What are you doing out here, Lion-O?"

The lost prince turned to see his new brother, Tygra, standing a few feet away with his arms crossed. Was it just Lion-O, or did he seem a bit angry?

"I came to see if Cheetara was okay," Lion-O answered honestly.

Tygra narrowed his eyes at that. "It's late," he said sternly. "You should probably get to bed."

Lion-O nodded before walking off to his room. With every step he took, Lion-O couldn't help but wonder what he did to slight his brother.


	7. Chapter VII: The Lizards

**ThunderCats! Don't own it! Get it? Got it? Good!**

**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**

**Chapter VII: The Lizards**

Cheetara, dressed in her Cleric garb, observed the various nobles of Thundera as they stood in the ballroom. The men were talking politics while their wives and daughters were chatting and gossiping about various matters. None of this mattered to her. What mattered right now was her duty as a Cleric.

What _did not_ matter right now was her jealousy.

Earlier in the evening, King Claudus had introduced Lion-O to the Thunderian nobles in attendance. Each nobleman the lost prince met had made sure that they would introduce him to each of their daughters. This was of course a way for Claudus to allow Lion-O to possibly court these young women and hopefully find Thundera's future queen.

While the Wileys were entertaining some of the guests with a song from Kit's flute, Cheetara was watching Lion-O converse with a female panther around his age. The panther laughed at a comment the lion made as she lightly touched his arm.

Cheetara unconsciously tightened the grip she had on her Bo staff as she allowed her eyes to wander the room. The Wileys had reached the end of their performance and were receiving praise and applause from their small audience. In another part of the ballroom, King Claudus was with both Generals Grune and Lynx-O, enjoying some ale and sharing war stories.

Then there was Prince Tygra. Cheetara saw the tiger prince shamelessly flirting with two courtiers—one on each arm—while they both giggled and sighed at his wooing. For some unknown reason, she couldn't help but remember the young tiger who had given her that flower years ago. How he turned out so different, perhaps only Tygra himself knew.

Cheetara forced herself to look upon Lion-O and the panther again. She was just in time to see the courtier bidding farewell to the lost prince, but not before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

It took all of the cheetah's will power to allow herself to appear as stoic as was the norm for all Clerics. Cheetara cursed herself for her emotions to spike like this. As a Cleric, her duty was to the protection of the Royal Family. She could not allow her feelings to jeopardize her sacred duty.

She could not allow her feelings for_ Lion-O_ to jeopardize her sacred duty.

* * *

A slight blush lightly colored Lion-O's cheeks as the panther courtier left to rejoin her family. He had to admit that she was cute, but in his mind, she couldn't hold a candle to a certain cheetah. Lion-O eyes scanned through the crowd, spotting each of the Clerics that were stationed in the ballroom. He couldn't help but wonder if Cheetara was among them. If she was, did she see the panther's kiss?

His thoughts were interrupted by some noblemen conversing amongst themselves. "Is it just me," one noble said, "or am I the only one relieved that Prince Lion-O was found?"

"I can agree to that," another noble said. "Let me tell you, I would have to be dead and buried in the cold ground before I let the _False Prince_ take the throne."

"Have you both lost your minds?" a third hissed. "We're in the Royal Palace! The Clerics have eyes and ears everywhere! We shouldn't be speaking of Prince Tygra like this here."

"We are only speaking the truth," the first noble said. "Claudus has been trying to get us to accept Tygra as his heir for years. How do we know the False Prince will accept Prince Lion-O's return?"

"Exactly," the second noble continued, "he could instigate a revolt and try to usurp the throne. We should send him into exile with the rest of his _traitorous clan_!"

Lion-O could only remain silent as he heard their words. Is this how they really felt about Tygra? If Lion-O hadn't been found, would they have then accepted his brother as their future king? Did either Tygra or his father know about how the nobles felt about all this?

"How do you like the party, little brother?" Tygra clapped him on the back.

Lion-O couldn't help but think about the nobles. "Honestly, I can't find myself enjoying it."

"You're telling me," Tygra agreed, "I don't see why father throws these things anyway. All everyone does is gossip and discuss politics." The tiger looked around discreetly before directing his brother to the far side of the ballroom. "You know, Lion-O, this isn't the only celebration going on."

This peaked the lion's interest. "What do you mean?"

Tygra brought his voice to a whisper. "The peasants are having a celebration of their own over your return. We can bail out on this snooze fest and head down there for a good time."

"Are you sure about this?" Lion-O asked, uncertain about what to do. "I don't think Father would approve of this."

"Don't worry about Father, Lion-O," Tygra reassured his brother. "We'll be back before he even notices we're gone. What do you say?"

He thought on that for a moment. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

Cheetara was observing King Claudus conversing with the Governor of one of Thundera's settlements when she felt something was amiss. She scanned the crowd; something was missing. That's when she noticed the panther that Lion-O was conversing with was now gossiping with the two courtiers that Tygra was flirting with.

Cheetara began searching through the lines of nobles, hoping to catch sight of the two brothers. Eventually, she could see no sign of them. Both brothers were missing.

_Lion-O_ was missing.

Cheetara quickly found WilyKat and WilyKit nibbling on some hors d'oeuvres and approached them. They were at first a little startled by the Cleric attire, but soon they recognized who it was underneath the cloak and mask.

"Cheetara," Kit said, "is that you?"

She made sure no one was looking before lifting the veil of her mask to reveal her face. "Have either of you seen Lion-O?"

The twins shared a glance before WilyKat answered. "We saw him leave with Prince Tygra a while ago. We heard them say something about heading down to the market district."

Cheetara gave a silent curse before going off to find Jaga.

* * *

For the first time since waking up in the palace, Lion-O could forget he was the Crowned Prince of Thundera. He and his brother watched as family and friends came together to dance and enjoy good food. It reminded him of when he was a child, he and Panthro had attended a celebration just like this for King Claudus's name day. Lion-O remembered eating a turkey leg as long as his arm.

"So," Tygra piped up next to him, "was I right, or was I right?"

Lion-O chuckled a bit. "You were right. This was a good idea." He shuffled for a moment. "Maybe we should start heading back about now."

"Don't worry so much, Lion-O," Tygra said. It was clear he didn't want to leave. "We still have some time before we go back. You should try and enjoy yourself more."

Through the joyful cheers, Lion-O began to hear cruel and mocking laughter echo through the crowd. At the far edge of the crowd, the lost prince caught sight of a group of cats mocking and throwing rotten fruit at a pair of lizards in pillories.

This behavior shocked Lion-O. "What are they doing?"

Tygra waved a hand. "Oh don't worry about that," he said, "those are just a couple of lizards father had put there this morning."

"What?" Lion-O couldn't believe this. "When did that happen?"

"While you were with your tutor this morning," Tygra answered. "They were caught trying to steal food from a nearby farm and father had them put in the pillories as punishment."

"They stole food?" Lion-O asked shocked. Usually, thieves that stole food only earned a few days in the jails.

"Yeah," Tygra sneered, "but what can you expect from those thieving lizards?"

Lion-O approached the lizards as the crowd of cats around them began to disperse. Soon, it was only the lost prince and the prisoners.

The lizard in the left pillory hissed. "You come to mock us too, _cat_? It's not like we're humiliated enough."

"I heard that you two stole food," Lion-O said.

"It's not like we had a choice," the lizard in the right pillory responded.

"Everyone has a choice," Tygra said as he joined Lion-O by his side, "and the two of you chose to steal from good hard working farmers. If you conniving lizards weren't too busy fighting us, you could have farmers of your own."

"We are farmers, you ignorant tiger," the left lizard sneered, "and not _all_ lizards fight for General Slithe."

"If you're farmers, why steal food?" Lion-O asked. None of this seemed right or just.

The occupant of the left pillory stared hard at the lost prince. "You cats have all the best lands on Third Earth, leaving little to the rest of us. Growing our own crops is almost impossible."

The right lizard spoke up then. "Not to mention that what little food we can grow goes straight into the bellies of General Slithe and his soldiers, leaving nothing for us. Do you still wonder why we were forced to steal now?"

Tygra scoffed while Lion-O thought for a bit. This wasn't right; all these lizards were trying to do was trying to feed their families. They shouldn't be humiliated like this. He had to do something. Lion-O picked up a nearby rock and began to pound away at the lock on one of the pillories.

Tygra quickly looked around. "What are you doing, Lion-O?" he whispered.

"I'm helping them, Tygra, and you should too." Lion-O turned to his brother. "Do you actually think that this is right? Where's the justice in this?"

Before Tygra could say anything, a voice suddenly spoke up. "What do you two think you're doing, eh?"

Both brothers saw the same group of cats from before suddenly approach, and they did not look happy. "We're helping these two lizards," Lion-O said boldly.

The leader of the group spat on the ground. "Lizard lovers, huh? Well will just have to fix you two up. GET 'EM!"

Before they could attack, Tygra took out his bolo whip and lashed out at them. The whip struck near their feet, driving the attackers back. One of them lunged toward Lion-O, the former champion using his skills to grab his attacker and flip him flat on his back.

Lion-O saw one of the other cats draw a knife from his trousers. The appearance of the blade shocked Lion-O until he remembered that this wasn't the Ring. There were no rules out here. Before the cat could use it however, a golden blur appeared and struck the cat in the face with her Bo staff.

_Cheetara!_

"Unbelievable," she muttered toward the lion, "I look away for a moment and you just disappear on me." She then turned toward his brother. "And I'm not surprised you had something to do with this, Tygra."

"Oh c'mon, Cheetara," the tiger bemoaned, "it wasn't all my fault. I was just trying to show my brother a good time."

A twinge of jealousy went through Lion-O. "You two know each other?" he asked perplexed.

Before they could give an answer, the small group began to crowd around them. The three cats prepared themselves for another attack.

"Enough!" a loud, booming voice called out. Everyone turned to see King Claudus, Jaga, and a few Clerics approach. Some of the peasants who were enjoying the festivities now gathered around to see what was going on. "What is the meaning of this? Why were you attacking my sons?"

The group leader looked to the brothers before he turned back to Claudus. "Your M-Majesty," he stammered, "I—that is to say we—"

"Leave," Claudus growled. "Get out of my sight before I have you all hanged from the gallows."

The group of cats wasted no time in getting as far away from the king and two princes as fast as possible. Claudus turned towards his sons. "Now," he said, "can either of you explain what's going on here?"

Lion-O stepped forward. "Father," he said, "I believe that you may have judged these lizards too harshly."

"What are you talking about, Lion-O?" Claudus asked. "These lizards are thieves. They attempted to steal food from good people."

"They're just poor farmers trying to feed their starving families," Lion-O argued. "We can't treat every lizard as our enemy." The lost prince thought for a moment. "What if they were cats, just like us, how would you judge them then?"

Claudus was taken aback by that statement. He looked to the imprisoned lizards—their eyes wide with fear—then looked to the crowd of cats around him. It was then the king sighed.

"Release the lizards."

* * *

It didn't take long to equip the lizards with a pair of Thunderian Mounts before they exited the city gates, both of them with sacks of food given to them by Lion-O himself. His act of generosity shocked both lizards, obviously they didn't expect this from a _ThunderCat_, but they gladly accepted the food.

As the gates closed behind them, Claudus looked toward Lion-O. "I hope we do not come to regret this, my son." He then left with Jaga, Tygra, and the Clerics in tow. This left the lost prince alone with Cheetara.

Lion-O looked toward the cheetah Cleric, trying to gauge her reaction. What did she think of him? Did she think him weak? Did she think him a fool? It came as a surprise when she stepped toward him and kissed his cheek. Her kiss was warmer than the panther's.

"I'm so proud of you, Lion-O" Cheetara said, her voice the sweetest thing he ever heard, "and…and I know your mother would be proud too."

Lion-O smiled at this, he could even feel a few tears that flowed down his cheeks before he wiped them away. While they both walked backed to the palace, they both had a slight realization.

Though they were too afraid to admit it yet, they were starting to fall for each other.


	8. Chapter VIII: The Assassin

**Disclaimer****: I still don't own ThunderCats!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter VIII: The Assassin**_

Lion-O walked down the halls of the Royal Palace after parting ways with Cheetara, passing a few Palace Guards as he did. The prince lifted his hand up to his cheek, still feeling the warmth of Cheetara's lips on his skin. That sensation was something that wouldn't go away for a long time.

The prince eventually reached his bedroom and entered, yawning as he did. It had been a long day, and all Lion-O wanted to do now was to get a good night's rest. He walked to his dresser and pulled out his bedclothes.

"Don't take those out, it's not like you'll need them tonight."

Lion-O turned to see that he wasn't alone in his room. A puma stood near his bed. Her amber eyes reflected the light from the window. Her long brown hair with white highlights, which was tied in a ponytail, reached her upper back with bangs framing her face. A dark brown dress reached down mid-calf with a garter on her right thigh and a belt with a bag was bound on her hips. The moonlight shone down on two golden manacles on both her wrists and arms.

"Y-y-you're not supposed to be here? Who are you?" Lion-O asked stammering. Whoever this puma was, she was beautiful, but second only to Cheetara. "Why are you here?"

The puma gave a sultry smirk. "My name is Pumyra," she answered as she approached, swaying her hips as she did. Lion-O couldn't help but gaze at them as she reached him. She lightly touched his arm. "As to why I am here, Prince Tygra sent me to you as a _gift_ to welcome you home. He thought that you would enjoy some of my—" she whispered the last word in his ear, "—_services_."

Lion-O's entire faced turned red as it finally dawned on him that this puma was a courtesan, a woman of the hour, a lady of the evening. He could only guess on some of the _services_ his brother had paid her to perform.

He pulled away from her, stepping backwards toward his bed. "I appreciate my brother's generosity, but I assure you that your services are not required."

Pumyra chuckled. "I get it," she said. "This is your first time, isn't it?"

Lion-O blushed, and he gave a start as he almost stumbled on his bed. "That…that has nothing to do with this!"

With grace, the puma courtesan swiftly walked toward the prince and claimed his lips with her own. Lion-O opened his mouth to try and protest the kiss, but Pumyra took advantage of this and thrust her tongue inside.

As she explored his mouth, Lion-O couldn't help but feel the spot on his cheek where Cheetara had kissed him starting to burn. He didn't know if the cheetah would ever reciprocate his feelings, but he felt as if this was a betrayal to her.

Pumyra pulled away from the kiss and gave a light shove and the prince soon found himself lying on his bed. It wasn't long before she was on top of him, her legs straddling his waist. It was from this position that Lion-O had noticed her necklace, a flat golden hand with the red and black ThunderCats symbol in the center, hanging around her neck by a red leather chord.

The puma trailed a finger down his chest. "Trust me," she purred, her right hand trailing her thigh, "you'll never forget tonight."

Lion-O saw Pumyra's eyes shift to her left as she drew something from the bag on her belt. The prince saw that it looked like a miniaturized archer's arrow. It was then that her left manacle unfolded into some kind on bow. Within a breath, she shot the arrow towards one of the draped windows.

Lion-O watched with wide eyes as a jaguar came from behind the drapes. He wore all black, his right hand held a dagger while the left one clutched his throat, blood seeping through his fingers. The jaguar gasped and coughed blood as he collapsed on the floor.

Lion-O quickly shoved the puma off of him before running out of his room. "GUARDS!" he called out. Three guardsmen ran to him within seconds, but by that time, the puma was already gone.

* * *

Lion-O was in the throne room with his father, Tygra, Jaga, and three Clerics (the one right next to him was Cheetara). It wasn't long before Grune entered the room.

"General," Claudus said, "what do you have to report?"

"Nothing good, Your Highness," the Destroyer said grimly. "The assassin bled to death before we could get anything from him. We searched his person, but found nothing that could tell us who wanted Prince Lion-O killed. Also, we were unable to find the second assassin.

Jaga turned to the lost prince. "Lion-O," he said, "what can you tell us about this puma?"

He took a breath before he began. "All I know is that she claimed to be a courtesan that Tygra had hired for me."

"Which is ridiculous," the tiger had said quickly, his eyes shifting. "I would never partake in such a thing."

Lion-O saw Cheetara rolling her eyes. "But I don't think she was an assassin," he said.

"Why would you say that, Lion-O?" Claudus asked.

"Well…" Lion-O thought for a moment. "If she was an assassin, I wouldn't be here talking to any of you, right? She would have killed me if she was."

"He brings up a good point, Claudus," Jaga said. Thankfully, he believed the lion prince's logic.

The King of Thundera looked unsure. "All the same," he said, "I want this puma brought in for questioning. Have the City Guard keeping an eye out for anyone matching her description."

Just like that, everything was decided. Lion-O returned to his room with Cheetara following close behind. When he closed the door, the last thing he saw was Cheetara guarding his door. In the morning, he would see her still standing by his doorway. She had not once left her post.

* * *

Panthro slept peacefully until he was jolted awake when the door to his room opened. The Grand Master had entered his room. "Come with me, General," he said, his tone authoritative.

The panther seemed unlikely to follow his order. "What on Third Earth for?" he asked groggily.

"You will know soon enough," he said before exiting the room.

Panthro didn't like the sound of that. For the first time in days, he left the room. The former general followed the Grand Master down through a torch lit hallway into a chamber. In the center a young puma girl was waiting.

When she saw the Grand Master, she bowed in respect. "Father," she greeted him.

"Pumyra," the Grand Master rested a hand on her shoulder, "my daughter, we're you successful in your mission."

"Yes, father," Pumyra said, her tone showing pride, "I was able to stop the assassin."

Her answer helped shake the sleep off of Panthro. "What assassin?"

The Grand Master drew back his hood, showing the face of a male puma around Panthro's age. His resemblance to Pumyra showing that he was, in fact, her father. "An assassin was hired to kill Prince Lion-O," he said. "Luckily, Pumyra was able to stop it from happening."

Panthro closed his eyes and balled his hand tightly into a fist. Someone had tried to kill Lion-O. Someone had tried to kill his boy, the boy he had raised as his own.

"I tried to tell you, General," the Grand Master said. "You could have brought him to us. Lion-O would have been safe with us, but you took him to the slums. You decided to turn him into your little fighting champion."

"I was preparing him," Panthro argued. "If they ever found us, he would have been able to defend himself."

"That didn't seem to help when they _did_ find you." The Grand Master seemed furious. "After all your so called _preparation_, they still managed to capture him."

"Father," Pumyra rested a hand on his shoulder, "all this arguing is not helping Prince Lion-O."

The Grand Master seemed to have calmed down under his daughters touch. "You're right," he sighed. "For now, we must concentrate all our efforts on retrieving both Prince Lion-O and the Sword of Omens."

The meaning of his statement was not lost on Panthro. "Wait," he said, "are you saying that you plan on attacking the Royal Palace?"

The Grand Master nodded. "We must do what we can to ensure Lord Lion-O's safety. That is the duty of our Order."

"This is insanity!" Panthro boomed. "You can't attack the palace. That place is built like a fortress. You need an army to even get past the wall."

"We won't need an army, General," the Grand Master said, and beckoned for both Panthro and Pumyra to follow him.

The walked down a long hallway before they reached their destination. Panthro saw a heavy steel door guarded by four cats in strange looking armor. The dark blue armor covered them from head to toe, with the helmet having some kind of black glass on it. The one thing on the armor that stood out was the gold hand and ThunderCats symbol on both shoulder guards. They opened the door and the three entered.

Panthro saw cats in hoods like the Grand Master's and more strange armored figures. They were all setting up training dummies dressed as Thunderian soldiers with armor and shields.

"What exactly is going on in here?" Panthro asked confused.

"This—" his arm gestured around the room "—is where we test technology, General."

Panthro snorted. "Technology is a myth, a fairytale parents tell their children."

"Well then, General," the Grand Master signaled one of the armored cats, "let us show you what this 'fairytale' is capable of."

The armored cat went to a nearby table and picked up a long dark blue weapon. To Panthro, it was similar to a crossbow but without the bow. The cat aimed the weapon at one of the shielded dummies and pulled the trigger. At that moment, a burst of light shot out of the weapon's barrel and struck the dummy.

Panthro looked at the dummy with wide eyes. Both the shield and armor had a scorched hole through them, with the dummy itself singed.

"There's a people on the outskirts of Thundera," the Grand Master explained. "They call themselves the Ro…um, the Ro…"

Pumyra cleared her throat. "The Ro-Bear Berbils, father."

The Grand Master nodded. "Yes, that. In exchange for protection from the Giantors and Trollogs, the Ro-Bear Berbils construct weapons for us to use."

Panthro looked at the weapons arranged on the table. "These things are amazing."

"That's not the only thing they made us," the Grand Master said. He led the former general to an area with a sheet covering a gargantuan object. "They also constructed this prototype for our assault."

On his signal several hooded cats came and pulled the sheet. Panthro felt his breath taken away when he saw what was covered.

"She's beautiful."


	9. Chapter IX: The Attack

**If I owned ThunderCats, I wouldn't have to go to college. But I don't, so…yeah.**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter IX: The Attack**_

During the two days following Lion-O's assassination attempt, Cheetara had never left him unguarded. She stood by his side as he attended his tutoring sessions and had lunch with the Wileys, and she was always outside his doorway when he bathed and slept. There wasn't a moment where the cheetah Cleric ever left the future king alone, and Lion-O soon began to notice a few resentful glares from Tygra.

During their time together, the prince had asked Cheetara about her and his brother. How did they meet? And when? Cheetara had said that when she was a girl, she came to Thundera to try and become a Cleric. Jaga had—at Lion-O's surprise—rejected her, claiming that she had no patience. But Cheetara was determined; she decided to stay outside the Sanctuary's doors until Jaga had no choice but to take her in. But as the days went buy, her body became weak, and so did her determination.

That was where Tygra came in. He walked up to Cheetara and silently gave her a flower, a Day Astrid to be exact. It was said that each petal of the flower contained a day of life, and the cheetah had begun to suck the nourishment from each petal every day until only the heart remained. When Jaga had seen that she waited all that time, he had decided the cheetah did have the patience to become a Cleric.

Cheetara had explained that if Tygra hadn't given her that flower, she probably never would have become a Cleric. She also said that even though Tygra had flirted with any courtier that manages to catch his eye, the tiger prince had been enamored with her ever since. That, of course, sent a pang of jealousy straight to Lion-O's heart.

On the second day since the attempt on Lion-O's life, Cheetara was not escorting him to the Library for his daily tutoring. She had told him that Claudus and Jaga had decided that he would receive sword training in case of any future assassins. Lion-O had muttered that he already knew how to fight as Cheetara took him to the training grounds.

The heir to Thundera's throne had expected General Grune to be his trainer, as he had previously trained Prince Tygra. Instead, Lion-O saw the equally imposing figure of General Lynx-O, the second-of-command of the Thunderian Army under Grune. The tan ThunderCat turned to Lion-O as he approached, allowing the prince to see his orange-red hair with black spots and tips, as well as the large white mustache.

"Your Highness," he bowed, "it is an honor to train my future king." When Lynx-O stood straight, Lion-O gasped as he saw his eyes. "Is there something wrong, Prince Lion-O?"

The lion prince swallowed hard. "Well…" he was hesitant to say it. "No offense to you General, but…I didn't expect you to be blind."

The General smirked and chuckled as Lion-O could imagine an amused glint cross his grey eyes. "You're not the first person to say that, nor will you probably be the last." Lynx-O walked to a sword rack and picked up two swords, throwing one of them to Lion-O. "The blind can still see if we want, we just use everything else to do it."

Lynx-O took a firm grip on his sword and brought himself into a stance. "Now," he said, "position yourself in this same stance." The lion copied the stance, but held the sword with both hands. "That's a broad sword you're holding, boy, not a great sword. I want you to make sure that you are using only one hand to hold it."

Lion-O did as he was told. He felt a little out of place with all of this. Lion-O was a champion of the Ring; he fought with his fists, not with swords.

"Now," Lynx-O said, "I want you to do a downward strike, like this." Lion-O saw his blind trainer demonstrate one before he held his sword up horizontally. "Now you try, Lion-O."

Lion-O put all his strength into the attack, striking the blade hard. "How was that?"

"That was good, but you put too much strength in your blows," Lynx-O lectured. "You need to save your strength. You don't want to tire yourself out when your facing down your next assassin. Try again!"

Lion-O followed his advice and gave a less powerful strike, which pleased Lynx-O and he decided to move on with the lesson. Lion-O learned how to do other attacks and blocking techniques. While all this was happening, Cheetara watched her prince move with grace as he practiced the moves being taught to him. She became aware of both WilyKat and WilyKit joining her in watching the lion prince receive his training.

Eventually, Lynx-O decided that he had learned enough to go through a sparring match of what he had learned. Lion-O, however, was unsure. "Are you sure, General?"

"Is this about me being blind?" Lynx-O grumbled. "I already told you, the blind can still see if we want."

"It's not that," Lion-O argued. "It's that this is only my first lesson. Are you sure I'm ready?"

"May I remind you that I am a General in your father's army," Lynx-O countered. "If I say you're ready, then you're ready. Now, take your position. We'll start on my go."

Lion-O took a stance, waiting for the blind general to make his move. It wasn't long before Lynx-O struck first. Lion-O was able to block his downward strike and countered with a horizontal slash that the general managed to somehow evade. They went on like this for several minutes. It was only when Lion-O remembered one of Panthro's lessons…

* * *

_**The Ring, ten years ago…**_

_An eight year old Lion-O grunted as he was thrown back on the mat. "C'mon, Lion-O," Panthro lectured, "you should know this by now."_

_The young lion in question grumbled. "I'm trying to, Panthro," he said, "but I can't do it."_

"_Did I hear you just say 'can't'?" Panthro boomed. "That word has no meaning in this arena. You _can_ do it, you just have to try. Now, what lesson are we trying to learn?"_

_Lion-O grimaced. "To learn how to look for your opponent's tell, but isn't that just for card players?"_

"_It's also for fighters, Lion-O," Panthro explained. "You need to look for signs that tells you when your opponents are about to strike. When they do, that's when you go on the offensive yourself. Now, let's try this again."_

_Lion-O nodded as he took a fighting stance. He did just as Panthro told him, he looked for the signs. The young fighter saw his mentor's legs tense up, telling Lion-O that his opponent was going to lunge at him._

_Lion-O was able to duck out of the way as Panthro threw himself at the boy. The young lion then took his mentor's arms and twisted it around his back, effectively pinning him to the ground._

_Panthro gave a joyful laugh. "See, what did I tell you?" he said. "I knew you could do it. Now let me up so we can try it again."_

* * *

It was only when Lion-O remembered one of Panthro's lessons did the tables turn. Lynx-O's arm tensed as he prepared for his next attack. Instead of blocking the downward strike, Lion-O countered with a horizontal strike. This attack knocked the blade from Lynx-O's hand.

"Alright, Lion-O!" the Wileys cheered as Lion-O won the match. Cheetara couldn't help but join in, clapping along with them.

"A little unorthodox," Lynx-O observed, he felt the attack that knocked his sword from his grip, "but you did well. There's one more thing I want to show you before you're dismissed."

He motioned for Lion-O to follow him, with Cheetara and the twins following them as well. Lion-O was surprised at how Lynx-O was able to navigate the palace hallways.

"If you don't mind me asking, General Lynx-O," Lion-O said, "how do you know where we're going?"

The blind cat smirked. "When you've been blind as long as I have, you find a way to get to where you're going."

The cryptic response only served to confuse Lion-O, so he left it alone for now. They soon found themselves in a grand chamber Lion-O had seen before. He saw a statue of a ThunderCat who held the Sword of Omens upward. Before the statue was two tablets with Thunderian script carved into them.

"Who's that supposed to be?" WilyKat asked confused.

Lynx-O seemed shocked. "Don't tell me you don't know," he said. "Didn't your parents ever tell you of Leo, the first Lord of the ThunderCats?"

The Wileys exchanged looks. "We don't like to talk about it," Kit said.

Lynx-O could hear the sorrow in her tone. "This, as you know, is a statue of Leo," he said. "Before the statue are the tablets that the first Lord of the ThunderCats used to enact the Code of Thundera, the ancient laws and tenants that every ThunderCat must uphold."

"The first is Truth: To speak the truth at all times."

"The second is Loyalty: To be loyal to friends and allies."

"The third is Honor: To honor and respect superiors."

"The fourth, and final tenant, is Justice: To strive to help others and fairness in all acts that are committed."

Lynx-O walked to the statue and touched its base. "As you saw with those lizards, Your Highness, the Code has slightly been…forgotten, even by your father."

Lion-O didn't need eyes to see the General was depressed. A cat of great honor, how could the General not feel displeased about the ThunderCats' personal code of honor being forgotten by even Claudus, the current Lord of the ThunderCats.

Lion-O placed a hand on the General's shoulder. "We will never forget, Lynx-O," the lion prince swore, "that I can promise you."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the blind cat's face. But it disappeared as worried voices echoed through the halls. They followed the voices outside where they saw smoke in the distance.

"Whiskers," Lion-O swore.

* * *

Down in the market district, merchants were trying to grab the attention of any potential customer and shoppers searched for the best deals on what they're looking for. You can imagine everyone's surprise when the wall suddenly exploded.

Thunderians young and old scrambled and took cover from whatever could be attacking them. They hid and cowered until they realize nothing was happening. A young Thunderian woman approached the hole that was caused by the explosion. She peered in and saw nothing but darkness. At the sight of the blood red eyes, she ran screaming.

Others screamed as they saw the metal beast emerge from the hole. It rolled out on what appeared to be wheels in the monster's claws and treads in the back. The front of the monster seemed to resemble a cat, its red eyes still aglow, and a sharp-pointed beard in front of the face. As citizens fled, the city guard appeared, but they quickly saw their swords and arrows were useless against the metal beast.

"How do we stop this thing?" one of the guardsmen hollered as the beast reached the noble district. They soon realized that this thing was heading straight to the Royal Palace. They thought that, hopefully, if they couldn't stop it, the Palace Guard and Clerics could.

It soon reached the palace gates, and it halted right in front of the bronze obstruction. The guardsmen stationed on the walls saw the beast; they also heard the carnage it caused in the market district. They heaved a sigh of relief as it did nothing for a moment, but relief soon turned to dread as the mouth opened.

What looked like a small star began to form between the monster's teeth. It then shot a beam of light at the gates, the force of the explosion vaporizing part of the gates and knocking it back. They watched in shock as the beast's wheels simply rolled over the gates and into the courtyard.

As the steel beast stopped in the courtyard's center, many of the Palace Guard surrounded the monster. That was when the rear of the monster opened like a door. From the door, many armored figures emerged. They shot at the guards with weapons that shot beams of light, effectively killing all of the courtyard's guardsmen.

One of the armored figures gave a quick sweep of the area. "All clear, General," he called out.

"Good," Panthro said as he emerged from the 'monster', dressed in a lighter version of the armor that lacked the shoulder and arm guards that the other soldiers wore. His nunchaku was still holstered on his belt. "Leave a few men to guard the ThunderTank; everyone else, you know what to do."

* * *

Cheetara quickly opened the door to Kat and Kit's room for Lion-O, who was carrying both Wildcat cubs over his shoulders. He quickly let them down in the center of the room.

"I want you two to stay here until the attack is over," Lion-O ordered. "Lock the door when we leave, and don't open it for anyone except me and Cheetara. Okay?"

"Don't worry," WilyKat said, "we'll stay put."

"Be careful, Lion-O," WilyKit said solemnly.

Lion-O gave the twins a quick hug before leaving the room with Cheetara, the click of the lock echoed behind then when the door closed. They saw palace guards run past them, as the alarm bell continued the ring.

"Lion-O," Cheetara said, "we need to get you to the Sanctuary. As Crown Prince, you need to be protected."

"I'm not going to hide and cower," Lion-O argued. "I want to help fight."

"We don't even know what we're fighting against, Lion-O," Cheetara said. "Some of the guards are talking that these soldiers are fighting with Technology."

That made Lion-O grimace; he had heard the legends and myths about Technology. They said that it was the driving force behind Mumm-Ra's enslavement over all of Third Earth. If this was true, these soldiers could pose a serious threat to Thundera.

"It's General Panthro!" one of the guardsmen yelled. "That traitor is fighting alongside the enemy soldiers."

Lion-O's eyes went wide as saucers as he heard this. Panthro was here? Panthro, who could possibly answer everything, who could tell him why he was a traitor, and who could tell him why he was kept from his family.

Cheetara saw his eyes, and knew what he was thinking. "Lion-O, don't—"

But before she could finish, he had already begun to run off. Cheetara wasn't far behind as she raced after him.

* * *

The four palace guards keeping vigil over the entrance to the royal armory were shocked by the appearance of the infamous General Panthro. Before his "betrayal", it was said that he was one Thundera's finest warriors. None of them looked forward to fighting him.

They saw four figures appear next to Panthro. The armor they wore was the same color as the enemy soldier's, but lighter and more flexible than the heavier models. The guards drew their swords as they walked toward the armory.

Each of the light-armored soldiers removed two sword grips from their belts. The soldiers were shocked to see blades of light emerging from the grips. The guards charged, but the soldiers kept their pace.

One guard charged ahead of the others and prepared to strike. The lead soldiers used one light blade to cut through the solid steel of the guard's sword while the other blade was thrust right into the guard's chest. The other palace guards stopped in their tracks as they saw their comrade collapse dead on the floor.

Panthro appeared from behind the soldiers. "Leave now," he said solemnly, "and I promise you'll be spared."

The guards wasted no time in dropping their swords and running as fast as possible away from the armory. The light-bladed swordsmen and Panthro quickly made their way to the armory door. The swordsmen placed black discs on the door, pressing blue buttons as they did. The blue light began flashing with beeps echoing through the halls.

"Explosives are ready, sir," one of the swordsmen said.

"Good," Panthro nodded. "We need to guard this area until—"

"PANTHRO!"

The ex-General froze as he recognized the voice calling him. He turned to see Lion-O slowly making his approach. If he was surprised by the sight of the strange swordsmen in strange armor kneeling and bowing their heads, he didn't show it. "Your Highness," they said as one.

Lion-O ignored them, only staring at Panthro. "What's going on, Panthro?" Lion-O asked. "Why are you doing all this?"

Panthro was hesitant. "Trust me, Lion-O," he said. "This is for the good of Thundera."

"I've been hearing that way too much lately," Lion-O said, his tone full of annoyance. "They say you're a traitor, and here you are attacking the palace. Tell me, how is any of this good for Thundera?"

Panthro didn't know what to say. How could he respond to that? "Listen, Lion-O," he said, "whatever you may think, whatever they may tell you, know that I am no traitor."

"Get away from him!" They all saw Cheetara race toward them, her staff in hand and ready for a fight.

Panthro turned to his men. "Keep her busy," he said.

The swordsmen nodded silently as they raced past their prince and focused straight on the Cleric. Cheetara held her staff up, preparing for a fight. They were prepared for this occurrence. They would be unable to match the speed of a Cleric, but they had Technology.

Cheetara saw them press a couple of buttons on their gauntlets before they disappeared into thin air. She held up a staff into a defensive position. This wasn't right, no one could just disappear completely. They had to still be here somehow.

Cheetara felt the wind knocked out of her as she felt a punch land straight to her gut. Lion-O called out her name and tried to help her, but Panthro was keeping him back. Cheetara swung her staff to where the punch came from, but found that she hit only air.

She felt a kick to her back, tumbling her forward. Cheetara found another punch to her mid-section waiting for her. The cheetah Cleric found herself kneeling in pain, trying to catch her breath. Another punch was thrown, this time to her face, and she felt nothing as she slipped into an unconscious state.

Lion-O stared in shock as he saw his guardian collapsed to the floor and the swordsmen reappeared. He rounded on Panthro. "How could you?" he seethed.

"She's still alive, Lion-O," Panthro reassured him. "Trust me, enough blood has already been shed this day."

Lion-O was about to argue, until he saw the lights on the strange discs began flashing faster and the beeps sounding closer together. He didn't know what this meant, but Panthro did.

"Get down," he yelled. The panther lunged forward, shielding the lion from the blast that came next. A huge blast shot forward from the door, leaving a large opening in the middle of the vault-like door. Lion-O was amazed and awed by what he saw.

Panthro pressed to fingers to his ear. "The armory's open; bring the capsule," he ordered.

Lion-O was perplexed. "What's going on, Panthro?" he asked. "Tell me now!"

The old cat sighed. "We're taking the Sword of Omens," Panthro said, "and I want you to come with us, Lion-O."

"After everything you did here?" the lion sneered. "Forget it! I don't even know who you are anymore." He then took a fighting stance, both of his fists balled, prepared for a fight. "I won't let you take the sword."

This upset Panthro greatly. "Listen, Lion-O, you need to know—"

"No excuses," the prince boomed. "You'll be leaving over my cold, dead—"

Lion-O couldn't finish as one of the swordsmen pressed two electrodes that extended from his glove to the prince's back. His body jerked as electricity coursed through it, his legs and arms going numb.

Panthro stared in shock as his former ward fell to the ground, his body still convulsing slightly. "Why the _hell_ did you have to do that?" he boomed.

"General," the swordsman said, "he was in our way. I only—"

He got nowhere in his excuse as Panthro yanked off his helmet and landed a knockout punch straight to the face. After a quick thought, Panthro yanked the golden palm necklace from around his neck. He then placed said golden palm into Lion-O's still hand.

"Keep it safe," the panther whispered, "and keep it secret."

Panthro turned to see a couple of heavily armored soldiers carrying the capsule with them, all the while balancing their rifles with only one arm. They wordlessly passed Panthro and entered the armory through the hole. They approached the stand where the Sword of Omens was sheathed within the Claw Shield.

The soldiers opened the capsule before they gingerly picked up the sword and gauntlet and placed it within. They sealed the container as they carried it out of the armory. "The sword is secure, General," one of the soldiers addressed him.

"Good," Panthro said, "have all the men return to the ThunderTank immediately."

"Sir, what about him?" the soldier asked, gesturing to the unconscious swordsman.

"Leave him," Panthro ordered growling, "he's dead weight." Honestly, he was still angry that he shocked Lion-O.

They did as he said and began their return to the ThunderTank. Some guardsmen tried to give chase, but a few laser blasts soon sent them running. Panthro and all his remaining men returned to the inside of the tank. Panthro returned to his seat in the cockpit.

"Let's get ourselves out of here," Panthro said to his co-driver. The ThunderTank soon rolled past the demolished gates.

* * *

Lion-O felt the feeling slowly return to his arms and legs as he placed the golden palm in the pocket of his pants. He then proceeded to drag himself to the unconscious Cleric.

Lion-O gathered Cheetara's body in his arms. "Cheetara!" he said, trying to shake her awake. "Cheetara, please wake up!"

The Cleric's eyes slowly opened, and she saw her prince over her. "Lion-O?" she groaned and rubbed the back of her head. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Lion-O said incredulously. "What about you? They just beat you, Cheetara!"

"I know," Cheetara said, "and I'm sorry I failed you."

Lion-O couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Failed me? Cheetara, you didn't 'fail me'!"

"I swore an oath to protect the royal family," tears began to brim, "to protect _you_. How can I do that when I'm too weak to—" She was speechless as Lion-O brought her into his embrace. The feeling of being held in his strong arms almost overwhelmed her.

"You're not weak, Cheetara," Lion-O whispered to her. "You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. You will never be weak to _me_."

Cheetara was released from the hug, but locked eyes with the crowned prince. She silently lifted her right hand, cupping his cheek. They did nothing but stare into each other's eyes, nothing else existed in their world right now except the two of them.

"Well, isn't this cozy," a sarcastic voice boomed. The prince and Cleric turned to see General Grune and few palace guardsmen. "Now, why don't you two love birds tell me what happened here."


	10. Chapter X: Aftermath

**While watching Tygra's flashback episode for the first time, I came to a horrifying realization: "Oh God…they made ThunderCats into TWILIGHT!" As always: I own NOTHING!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter X: Aftermath**_

"Let me see if I can understand this, _Captain Cabrae_," King Claudus almost snarled. He was in the throne room with Lion-O and Tygra sitting by his side, in front of them was General Grune and a quivering cougar that was the Captain of the City Guard. "Do you mean to tell me that you and your men were unable to even keep up with this…this _machine_?"

"Y-Y-Your M-Majesty," Captain Cabrae stammered, "you must understand. It turned down the alley, and it was gone by the time we got there. It was as if it just disappeared into thin air."

Lion-O knew that the Captain's excuse would not go over well with his father. It would be considered a miracle if the cat was still leading the City Guard by the end of the day.

Claudus growled. "You are dismissed, Captain."

The Guard Captain bowed before quickly walking out of the room while he still had his job. Claudus stood up from his throne and began pacing back and forth, a snarl emerging from his throat.

"This is a nightmare," the king growled. "The palace has been attacked, most of our men have been slaughtered, _and_ the Sword of Omens was stolen from our own armory."

Lion-O and Tygra could agree with that. Both princes knew that the sword was not only a powerful weapon, but a cultural treasure. All Thunderians grew up hearing the story of Leo wielding the Sword of Omens to overthrow Mumm-Ra and establish their great Kingdom of Thundera, the envy of all Third Earth. So far, no one but those at the Royal Palace knew the sword had been stolen, and Claudus had the means to ensure it was kept that way. If others knew of the theft, there would only be chaos and anarchy.

"Have we learned anything from the captured soldier?" Claudus asked. He was referring to the one that stunned Lion-O with the strange device.

"No, Your Majesty," Grune the Destroyer answered. "He has refused to utter even one word. We know nothing on who he answers to, or on how he got a hold of Technology."

Claudus sighed. "For now, keep him in the dungeon until we decide what to do with him." He sat back down on the Throne of Thundera and motioned for one of the palace guards. "Send in Jaga and his Cleric."

The guard bowed before leaving the throne room. Everyone was silent as he returned with Jaga and Cheetara in tow. Cheetara did not wear her Cleric garb, sporting her brown top and pants instead. They both bowed as they neared the throne.

"Step forward, Cleric," Claudus said.

Cheetara looked to Jaga, who only nodded. She nervously took a few steps toward the dais of Thundera's royalty. To Lion-O, it didn't seem to be in Cheetara's nature to be this nervous. It almost seemed like a condemned prisoner awaiting the executioner's axe.

Claudus stared hard at the cheetah. "When you became a Cleric," he said, "you took an oath to protect the royal family, did you not?"

Lion-O tensed a bit. "I did, Your Majesty," Cheetara said, her eyes meeting with the king's.

"When my son was returned to us," Claudus continued, "he was placed in your care as your charge, am I correct?"

Lion-O didn't like where his father seemed to be taking this conversation. "He was, Your Majesty," Cheetara answered.

"And during the palace attack," Claudus went on, "where you not incapacitated, leaving my son, _your charge_, vulnerable?"

Lion-O _definitely_ did not like where this was going. A shared look with Tygra told him he was thinking the same thing. Their father was angry, and he was looking for blood.

Cheetara only continued to meet her king's glare head on. "I was, Your Majesty."

"Do you have anything to say in your defense," Claudus asked, "anything to say to excuse your failure?"

Cheetara swallowed hard. "No, Your Majesty, I do not. I swore an oath, and I failed to uphold it. I offer no excuse for what happened."

"I see then," Claudus nodded. "So be it. As of this day, you are hereby dismissed from the Clericy."

Lion-O was on his feet in an instant. "Father, no! You can't!"

"I'm sorry, son," Claudus said firmly, "but this must be done."

"But it wasn't her fault," Lion-O said.

Grune snarled. "You should stay out of matters that have already been dealt with, boy."

Lion-O sneered at the General. "And you should learn to only speak when spoken to."

Grune clenched his fists. "You've got quite the mouth, _Your Highness_," he said sarcastically. "How would you like to be punched in it?"

Lion-O laughed. "You wanna know something, Grune?" he asked amused. "I've seen guys as big as you fight in the arena. They liked to think they were invincible, that they could beat anyone. They didn't last ten seconds. What was that saying? 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.'"

"What's your point, boy?" Grune asked annoyed.

"My point is that they tended to stroke their egos," Lion-O said, "just as you probably tend to stroke _something else_ entirely."

Everyone in the throne room stared in shock at the prince's brashness. No one has ever said anything like that to Grune. As for the general himself, he looked as if he was about to pop a blood vessel.

A roar emerged from Grune's throat. "Now you listen here, you little sh—"

"Grune," Claudus called out before he could say more, "perhaps it would be in your best interest if you were to leave for now."

Grune just stood where he was for a moment. "As you wish, Your Majesty." As he left, the General gave a look to Lion-O that said "This isn't over."

The lion prince turned to his father when the Destroyer left. "Father," he said, "I ask that you give Cheetara another chance."

"There are no second chances for something like this, Lion-O," Claudus informed him.

"I ask you to reconsider, father," Lion-O said. "I trust Cheetara with my life, and you should too."

Claudus looked to his son, then to Cheetara herself. "Very well," he sighed. "My son has placed a lot of faith in you, young lady. I will give you a second chance. But I must warn you, to fail in upholding your oath a second time is not an option. Are we clear on this, Cleric?"

Cheetara looked to Lion-O before meeting the king's gaze. "I understand, Your Majesty."

Ignoring all royal etiquette, Lion-O walked out of the throne room without asking to be excused. The prince just wandered the halls as he heard a voice calling out to him.

"Lion-O!" Cheetara ran to catch up to him. "You didn't have to do all that."

Lion-O turned to the Cleric. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean," Cheetara began, "you didn't have to stand up for me like that. I knew that I would be dismissed from the Clerics; I would have lived with that. You didn't have to defend me like you did. I mean, what you said to General Grune—"

"Listen, Cheetara," Lion-O interrupted, "my father was making a mistake. You're still a great Cleric. If those soldiers hadn't used their Technology, you would have been able to beat them."

"That's not the point, Lion-O," Cheetara exclaimed. "The point is that I couldn't protect _you_."

"The duty of the Clerics is to protect the royal family from all known threats," Lion-O informed her. "Technology is an unknown threat. So to me, you didn't fail any oath."

Cheetara couldn't argue with that, it was all so logical. She watched as Lion-O walked away, all the while she stood rooted to the ground.

* * *

"Can I ask you something, Cheetara?" WilyKat asked. He, his sister, and Cheetara where in the Wileys' bedroom the following night.

"Of course," Cheetara said.

Kat looked to his sister for a moment. "We heard about what Lion-O said to General Grune. What did he mean when he said that Grune stro—"

"It means," Cheetara interrupted, "that's a conversation to have when you're older. Now come on, it's getting late. You two need your sleep."

She quickly made sure that both twins were dressed in their bed clothes before tucking them in. The only light in the room was a candle on the night stand between the two beds. As she tucked them in, Cheetara began to hum a melodious tune.

"What're you humming?" WilyKit asked.

The Cleric turned to her. "It was a lullaby my mother used to sing to me before…" She never finished that sentence. Cheetara could only remember the lizards…and the fires.

"Do you know the words?" WilyKat piped up from the other bed.

That snapped the cheetah from her memories. "No," Cheetara said, "but I always loved the tune. May I still hum it?"

Both Wileys nodded as she continued the lullaby. By the time Cheetara was done, WilyKat was fast asleep while Kit's eyelids were becoming heavy.

"Cheetara?" she yawned.

"Yes, WilyKit?"

"You love Lion-O, don't you?"

Cheetara's whole body froze at that. "Why would you say that?"

WilyKit yawned again. "Because he stood up to his father for you," she said. "He did that because he loves you too."

Cheetara did nothing but pat the girl's head. "Go to sleep, Kit."

WilyKit closed her eyes to sleep as Cheetara left the room and silently closed the door. The Cleric simply stared ahead as she began her silent walk back to the Sanctuary. WilyKit's words echoed through her mind.

"_He did that because he loves you too."_

Cheetara wanted to believe that. She didn't know if it was true, or if WilyKit was imagining things. But none of it mattered.

"Even if it was true," she whispered, "it wouldn't be allowed."


	11. Chapter XI: Love in His Eyes

**I don't own ThunderCats! I don't own ANYTHING, not even my own truck!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XI: Love in His Eyes**_

For the past three days, Lion-O was starting to notice that Cheetara wasn't around him as much anymore. He was still thankful that she retained her Cleric status, but she seemed to be assigned to other Cleric duties.

This didn't mean that Claudus allowed his son to wander the palace unprotected. He had two members of the Palace Guard follow the prince wherever he went. Lion-O wasn't comfortable with the distance his father was trying to put between Cheetara and himself, nor did he like that these guards reported directly to Grune the Destroyer.

Today was different for Lion-O, as Claudus had arranged for his son to have lunch with the daughter of one of Thundera's noblemen. Leonessa was a young lioness that was close to Lion-O's age, her hair a shade darker than his and styled in an elaborate braid.

As they ate, Leonessa kept going on about the latest gossip that was circulating around the court. Lion-O tried to tune her out as he kept eating his lunch. "My father's new boat could hold enough food and water to last us month," she said, "and it has every modern convenience. We plan on going sailing next week; you should really join us."

Lion-O swallowed a bite of his food. "I'll have to think about it," he said.

Leonessa motioned for one of the servants to refill her glass of water. "I must admit, Your Highness," she said, the servant pouring the water in her glass, "I was surprised that His Majesty had invited me here to luncheon with you."

Lion-O watched her take a sip of her drink. "I'm sure it was," he muttered under his breath.

She smirked as she took another bite. "In fact," Leonessa said cheerfully, "I am happy as well. I have no doubt that my father will approve of us."

Lion-O felt his entire body freeze at that. "I'm sorry," the prince said. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

* * *

Lion-O made his way into his father's study, seeing Claudus himself and Leonessa's father in deep discussion. When Claudus saw his son barge through the wooden doors, he and his guest turned suddenly.

"Lion-O?" Claudus said surprised. "What are you doing here? Why are you not with Leonessa?"

The prince took a calming breath. "I need to speak with you, Father," Lion-O said, "_alone_."

Claudus nodded before regarding the noble. "If you'll excuse us, Leon." Leon nodded and then left the study to seek out his daughter, closing the door behind him. Claudus regarded his son silently for a moment. "Now Lion-O, what is so important that you had to interrupt us?"

Lion-O gazed at his father sternly. "Is it true? Are you trying to arrange a marriage between me and Leonessa?"

Claudus sighed. "I'm not surprised that girl couldn't keep a secret," the king muttered. "Yes, Lion-O, Leon and I are arranging a marriage between you and Leonessa. Your lunch with her was for the two of you to get to know each other."

"Did you think to wonder if I wanted to choose who I wished to marry?" Lion-O asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course I did," Claudus reassured him. "I thought that eventually, marrying Leonessa would be your choice."

"And what if I don't want to marry her?" Lion-O continued to press on. "What if I don't love her?"

Claudus sighed. "I understand how you feel, Lion-O," he said softly. "When I met your mother, it was not love at first sight. We were both angry that our lives were being arranged by our parents, but then things started to change." The king placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "We began to talk, and we soon realized that we had developed feelings for one another."

"Is there a point to this story, Father?" Lion-O asked.

"There is," Claudus said. "It took time for Leona and I to fall in love, and our wedding was one of the happiest days of our lives. I know the same can happen to you and Leonessa."

Lion-O narrowed his eyes. "And what if it isn't like you and Mother? What if you're wrong?"

Claudus sighed as he removed his hand. "At least give it some thought, Lion-O," he said before dismissing his son.

Lion-O left the study, his mind in disarray. He couldn't help imagine the wedding his father and Leon they would eventually arranged. He and Leonessa, dressed in groom's attire and a flowing white dress respectively, standing in front of the altar with all of the nobles and governors in attendance.

His fantasy ended with a certain cheetah girl taking the place of the lioness.

* * *

Cheetara watched as the Wileys giddily played in the royal garden. It was good to see the children finding peace, even when the palace was attacked only three days ago. She only hoped that this peace would last forever.

Her thoughts kept drifting to Lion-O. It was all surreal when she thought on how he prevented her from losing her Cleric status and how he had even stood up to General Grune himself. WilyKit had said that it was because Lion-O loved her. That thought had kept her up a few nights. Could she actually have a place within her prince's heart?

"Cheetara!"

The Cleric turned expecting Lion-O, but saw Prince Tygra approaching her. She wondered why he came to see her. Cheetara bowed respectfully. "Your Highness," she greeted him.

"Oh c'mon, Cheetara," Tygra said playfully, "you know you don't have to do any of that formal stuff with me."

She ignored the playful tone. "Do you know how Lion-O is doing?" Cheetara asked. After three days of not seeing her charge, perhaps the tiger prince could tell her any news of him.

"He's having lunch with some courtier," Tygra waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not—"

Cheetara couldn't hear a word after that; her body froze and her mind had gone silent. All she could think about was of some random nobleman's daughter alone with _her_ prince. The Cleric could only imagine said courtier's intentions.

"Cheetara, can you hear me? Hello!" Tygra's voice had driven her away from those thoughts and brought her back to reality. The prince looked at her worriedly. "You okay, Cheetara?"

"Yes," she quickly lied, "I'm perfectly fine."

"I'd say you're far from fine," Tygra said. "You looked like you were about to throw-up for a minute."

Cheetara blushed for a moment. "It must have been something I ate. It's nothing to stop me from my duties."

Unexpectedly, Tygra grabbed her right hand with both of his. "I don't want to talk about duty; I want to talk about us."

"Tygra—"

"No," Tygra said firmly, "let me say this first. Ever since I first saw you, ever since I gave you that Day Astrid, you have always been on my mind."

Cheetara narrowed her eyes. "I'm sure you say the same thing to those courtiers," she said sternly.

"That's not the same," Tygra protested. "They're not you, Cheetara. I don't feel about them the way I feel about you."

The Cleric shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tygra," Cheetara said, "but that's not possible. I took an oath when I became a Cleric; my oath must always come first."

Letting go of her hand, Tygra narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Really?" he sneered. "Funny how your oath seems to fly right out the window when Lion-O's around."

Cheetara narrowed her own eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, Tygra?"

"I think you and I know exactly what it means," Tygra growled. "Ever since _he_ showed up, you've practically followed him around like a love sick puppy."

Cheetara couldn't keep the blush of her face. "That's not true! Lion-O was taken from his old life and brought into another. I'm only trying to help and guide him, plus he was almost _assassinated_. I'm his _bodyguard_, Tygra!"

"Really?" the tiger sneered. "And just how far do these bodyguard _duties_ go exactly? Let me guess, you just do more than guard his body, right?"

The accusation behind his question was the last straw. Cheetara had suddenly visualized herself taking her staff and striking the tiger prince in his handsome face, violently delivering blow after blow over and over again. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths before she stared hard at the prince in front of her.

"You don't know _anything_," the Cleric seethed before turning on her heel and walking away.

Tygra wasn't done however. "Lion-O's going to be married," he called out. He revealed a cruel smirk as he watched the cheetah freeze in her tracks. "Father is arranging a marriage between him and Lord Leon's daughter. So whatever delusions you had of you and Lion-O, you might as well forget about them."

For all she knew, Tygra could be making all this up just to get a rise out of her. Cheetara refused to look back as she resumed her brisk walk, her nails digging into her palms as she balled her fists. The Cleric rounded the corner before she slumped against the wall, a heavy stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Cheetara?" she heard WilyKit's voice call out as both Wilys turned the corner to see her crying. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," WilyKat said worriedly, "we saw you talking to Prince Tygra. What did that jerk say to you?"

The cheetah quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's nothing important," she almost croaked. "I'm fine; I just need to be alone for a while."

The Wilys shared a worried look before nodding and running off back to their playtime. Cheetara forced herself away from the wall and continued onward. With each step, she tried to push all her thoughts away from Lion-O and his arranged _marriage_.

Eventually, she heard the clang of metal on metal. Cheetara followed the noise to the training yard and saw that Lion-O was there. He had a sword in his hands and was hammering the blade profusely on an armored training dummy.

Cheetara had never seen him so angry. "Lion-O!" she called out to him.

The lion prince ceased his attack and turned to see the Cleric approaching him. "Hey," he said as she came within arm's reach.

"Are you okay?" Cheetara asked concerned. "You seem angry; did something happen?"

Lion-O looked away ashamed. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly. "I'm fine."

"Tell him that," Cheetara referred to the training dummy.

Lion-O sighed and returned his sword to the weapons rack. "I need to get out of here, Cheetara."

"What do you mean, Lion-O?" Cheetara asked.

The prince turned back to the Cleric. "I mean," Lion-O said, "that I need to get out of the palace, even if it's just for one day."

This statement shocked Cheetara. "We can't, Lion-O," she said. "After everything that has happened, it doesn't seem to be a good idea to be outside of the palace."

"It'll just be this one time," Lion-O said, trying to convince her. "Besides, I'm confident that you and I can handle anyone that tries to mess with us."

Cheetara didn't seem so sure. "I don't know…"

Lion-O sighed. "Look," he said, "I just really need to get out there for now. I just need to take my mind off some things."

Cheetara couldn't help but think of her confrontation with Tygra. "Okay," she said, "let's go."

* * *

Wearing hoods over them to keep their anonymity, Lion-O and Cheetara spent the day wandering the streets of Thundera. The pair had enjoyed various pastries and sweets and had seen many spectacles; Cheetara almost fainted when she saw a jaguar swallow a sword.

Eventually, the sky turned from the clear blue to a dusky orange as the sun began the end of its day long trek. Cheetara realized that she needed to get Lion-O back to the palace before evening supper.

"Lion-O," she said to him, "it's getting late. We need to head back."

Lion-O thought for a minute. "We can't right now," he said. "There's one more thing we need to do first."

That was when he took his protector's hand and pulled her along with him. Lion-O navigated the streets and through the various markets. It didn't take long before Cheetara realized that they were nearing the Ring, nearing the place where she first saw her prince.

Instead of going to the Ring itself, Lion-O took her through a passage between one of the buildings and up some stairs. They eventually reached the roof and Cheetara couldn't think of why the prince would bring her here.

What she saw took her breath away.

The sun was close to setting over the horizon. The beautiful sky of twilight had shown a light over the slums, making even the dirtiest buildings show an inner beauty.

"This is amazing," Cheetara breathed as they sat on the edge of the roof. "I've never seen anything more beautiful."

"Yeah," Lion-O said, "me neither."

But the young prince wasn't talking about the sunset. All he saw was the sunlight reflecting off her blonde hair and beautiful fuchsia eyes. Cheetara had noticed this and couldn't help but blush.

There has been something that has always been on his mind. "Cheetara," Lion-O said, "why did you join the Clerics? You've never exactly talked about your past at all."

Cheetara seemed hesitant for a moment. "After what happened," she said, "it was the only thing I had left in my life."

Lion-O didn't like how she said that. "I used to live in a village with my mother and father," she continued. "Ever since I was little, I could run as fast as I can now as a Cleric. My mother said that I was special, that I would join the Clerics one day. That was all I could dream about back then."

Cheetara swallowed hard. "Then the lizards attacked us. One of Slithe's lieutenants was leading a raid on our village for supplies. They killed anyone who got in their way…even my parents."

Lion-O's heart sunk when he heard that, of all the things that could happen to a child.

"I was hiding under my bed when the attack was over," Cheetara continued her story. "A lizard came into my room and he saw me. All he did was stare at me for a bit, and then he left a loaf of bread next to my bed before he left." She smiled at Lion-O. "You were right about those two lizards, not all of them are our enemies."

The Cleric looked back at the setting sun. "Once they were gone, I left my home. Even after all the death and destruction around me, all I could think about was the one thing I had left: my dream to join the Clerics. So, all by myself, I walked all the way here to Thundera, and I made my dream come true. My mother always said I would do it, and I only hope that I made her proud."

"You did, Cheetara," Lion-O said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know that she and your father would be proud of the woman you are today."

Cheetara couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes, the look that made her heart skip a beat and the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She couldn't see the sunset anymore, all she saw was the love in his eyes.

"My father is trying to arrange a marriage for me," Lion-O said suddenly.

Cheetara nodded. "I know," she said sadly, "and…and I wish you all the happiness in the world, Lion-O."

"But I don't want to marry Leonessa," Lion-O proclaimed. "I don't want to marry any of those spoiled noble girls," the Cleric blushed as the prince cupped her cheek with his hand, "not when I already know who I really want to be with."

They both couldn't help but lean closer to one another, their mouths only inches away from each other. "We can't, Lion-O," Cheetara whispered. "We're both from two different worlds, and I swore an oath."

"Do you really care about that right now?" Lion-O asked, looking deep into her eyes.

With one word, Cheetara sealed their fates. "_No_."

With that, Lion-O claimed her lips with his. Cheetara returned the kiss with all the raw passion she could muster, running her fingers through his fiery mane as she did. Blissful warmth spread through their bodies as they clung to each other.

They only parted when air became their only concern. Their foreheads touched as the prince and Cleric tried to catch their breaths, their eyes never looking away from each other.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Lion-O whispered.

Cheetara smiled. "So have I," she whispered back.

Lion-O's peripheral vision caught some movement on the streets below. "It can't be," he gasped.

Cheetara looked at him worriedly. "Lion-O, what is it?"

"It's her!" the prince said as he caught sight of a familiar puma wearing the same brown dress. "It's Pumyra!"


	12. Chapter XII: The Order of the Hand

**I'm somewhat broke, so I don't own ThunderCats.**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XII: The Order of the Hand**_

Lion-O and Cheetara were lucky that Pumyra never spotted them as they followed her through the streets. Ever since the prince spotted the "courtesan" from the roof, they had been careful to tail her and keep the puma in their sights.

"Where do you think she's going?" Cheetara asked as they discreetly followed the puma.

"I don't know," Lion-O answered, "but she may be able to lead us to Panthro."

Cheetara seemed curious. "Why would you think that?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Her necklace," Lion-O said. "It had the same symbol as the soldiers Panthro was with."

Cheetara shook her head. "This doesn't make any sense," she said confused. "Panthro and his soldiers attacked _us_, but you said that _Pumyra_ saved you from an assassin."

"It's confusing," Lion-O admitted, "I'll give you that. But if we follow her, we may be able to find some answers."

The prince and Cleric saw Pumyra turn to the right, walking right into an alley. Lion-O and Cheetara crept along the wall, reaching the entrance to the alleyway. Cheetara saw her charge preparing for a fight.

"I know this alley," Lion-O told her. "This is a dead end; we have her now."

The two waited only for a slight moment before they rounded the corner and—"What the…?" Cheetara said confused. "Where did she go?"

That was what Lion-O was asking himself as well. They looked down the dead end alley and saw no one. This couldn't be right; they saw Pumyra walk down here just a moment a go. How could she leave without them seeing her?

They both walked down the alley, observing the walls as they did. They looked for any marks that indicated that she could possibly have climbed the walls to the roofs. They reached the end of the alley where they saw a mural of Leo holding the Sword of Omens carved into the stone wall.

"That's strange," Cheetara said. "Why is this here?"

Lion-O shrugged. "I've been down this alleyway before," he said. "It's just always been here."

"But why is it _here_?" Cheetara asked as she inspected the mural. "This alley is a dead end, Lion-O. Why would someone put a mural like this in a place so out of the way?" She tapped her finger on a spot on the mural. "What's this supposed to be?"

She was indicating where the Eye of Thundera was on the mural. Instead of the famed jewel, it seemed that a hand was carved into the center of the sword. Lion-O realized that the same hand was the symbol that the soldiers had on their armor.

"Wait a minute," Lion-O said, having an epiphany. He dug through his pants pocket and pulled out the necklace Panthro gave him. The gold hand was the same size as the one in the mural.

"Lion-O," Cheetara said, peering at the necklace, "where did you get that?"

The prince was a bit hesitant. "Panthro gave it to me during the attack," he said. "Maybe this is why he wanted me to have it." Lion-O held up the golden hand. "This obviously has something to do with this mural."

Cheetara nodded. She was a bit hesitant on using something given to her charge by the enemy, but they didn't actually have a choice right now. Lion-O slowly and steadily placed the hand in the carved outline. A few clicks sounded before the mural slid down, revealing a hidden passage.

Cheetara looked down to see a torch lit staircase leading downwards. "Where could this possibly lead to?" she asked amazed. The Cleric was in awe that something like this was even in Thundera.

"I don't know," Lion-O said, grabbing her hand, "but we're going to find out."

They both kept silent as they carefully traversed down the barely lit stairs. The Cleric and her charge kept their feet light with each step they took. "I think we're at the end," Cheetara soon said.

She was right; Lion-O saw an arched opening a few feet away. Cheetara took one of the torches hanging from the wall and followed Lion-O through the opening. A huge tunnel awaited them as they looked to the left and right from the opening.

"The size of this tunnel is enormous," Cheetara said amazed, the light from her torch barely reaching the ceiling.

"I think this is where Panthro's machine went," Lion-O said while the Cleric seemed uncertain. "Think about it; this place is big enough for it to come through here underground. No wonder Captain Cabrae and his guardsmen couldn't find it."

Both lion and cheetah walked down the tunnel, hoping that the direction they chose would lead them to something. They eventually came to a large chamber; Panthro's machine stood in the center with other pieces of Technology strewn about the room. There were no guards to be seen.

"Where is everyone?" Lion-O asked confused. "Shouldn't there be guards around?"

"Who knows?" Cheetara shrugged. "They probably never thought that any outsider would be able to find their way down here."

They eventually found themselves wandering through a torch-lit hallway, hoping to discover more about this underground haven. Cheetara kept a hand on her staff, ready to strike if they were ever discovered.

It was a while before Lion-O halted in front of her. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Cheetara asked, straining her ear to listen for any sound.

The Cleric soon began to hear it to. Mumbling voices began to echo from the dim hallway. They followed the voices to a pair of double doors. Quietly, the pair opened one of the doors just a crack and peered through.

Inside the chamber was a circular table with light-blue hooded men sitting around it, and the golden hand and ThunderCats symbol was embroidered on a banner on the room's far side. Lion-O gave a silent gasp as he saw Panthro standing behind a cat wearing a darker shade of blue with Pumyra by his side.

"There he is," Lion-O whispered. "What do you think is going on here?"

"It looks like some sort of meeting," Cheetara said.

The dark-hooded cat rose and removed his hood, his face resembling somewhat like Pumyra's. "Welcome, brothers," he said. "This council is now in session."

The other hooded figures stood up and raised their right hands, and then they spoke as one. "We are the Hand that will guide Thundera."

They returned to being seated as the male puma, their leader, spoke again. "Brothers," he said, "we have achieved a great victory. We have the Sword of Omens; the very icon of this great nation is now in our grasp. This is only the first step in our goal."

Another hooded figure stood up. "Grand Master Valern," he addressed him, "are you saying that the time has finally come?"

"Yes," Valern said. "Technology was once the tool that Mumm-Ra used to submit us to his reign, but now it's our greatest weapon." The puma began to circle the room. "For almost two decades, the Order of the Hand has grown. We have gained numerous followers, and gained the influence of lords, governors, and even Clerics. It is now time to cut the head from the serpent."

Panthro glared at the Grand Master. "What are you saying, Valern?"

Valern met the glare head on. "You know _exactly_ what I am saying, General," the Grand Master said. "Once I send out the word, our armies will be here in a matter of days. Then, we will be able to take the throne in Prince Lion-O's name."

Lion-O and Cheetara shared a worried look. Take the throne in _Lion-O's_ name? What did they mean by that? _Why_ would they do that?

"You're going to usurp Claudus?" Panthro asked in disbelief. "Are you insane? You can't just commit a coup d'état and expect the people to stand by and let it happen. They will revolt against us!"

"They won't if they learn the _truth_, General," Pumyra spoke up.

Panthro looked unsure. "You and I both know that this needs to be done, Panthro," Valern said. "After _everything_ Claudus has committed, this is the only option that we have available. Once Lion-O is on the throne, Claudus will finally be held accountable for what he has done." The Grand Master placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is for the good of Thundera."

The old cat sighed. "Fine," Panthro said. "If this will help Thundera, then so be it."

Lion-O couldn't believe what he was hearing. So many questions began to run through his mind. Why was this good for Thundera? What did his father do for them to try and usurp him? Lion-O backed away from the door, a blank stare coming from his eyes.

"Lion-O?" Cheetara whispered worriedly. She stepped toward her charge, but in doing so, accidently pushed against the door, sending it forward.

Cheetara swallowed hard, hoping someone didn't see that. "Someone's out there," Pumyra's voice called out; she did see it.

Cheetara grabbed a hold of Lion-O and practically dragged him through the hall. She pulled him around the corner and pressed both of them against the wall. The Cleric peered around the corner and saw Pumyra and Panthro emerge from the room followed by a few soldiers. They sealed the room shut as they left.

"Pumyra," Panthro said, "take the men and check the east wing. I will search the west wing alone."

Pumyra nodded hesitantly before having the soldiers follow her down the hallway. Panthro approached the hall where Cheetara and Lion-O were. "I know you're there," he said. "You can come out."

Cheetara came out, her staff fully extended and pointed directly at the General. She made sure that Lion-O was safely behind her. "That's far enough, _General_," she seethed.

Panthro looked to the prince behind her. "Lion-O—"

"You do not speak to him," the Cleric seethed again. "We know what you're up to, Panthro. You won't get away with it."

The old cat ignored her. "Lion-O," he said, "I need you to listen. There are some things that you do not know."

"Like what?" Lion-O asked.

Panthro looked toward the hallway where Pumyra had disappeared. "I can't tell you here," he said. "Meet me at the Ring tomorrow after dusk. You can even bring your Cleric friend here. Meet me then, and I will tell you everything you need to know."

Lion-O was silent, but then gave a nod. The panther looked to the Cheetah. "Take him out the way you came in; I'll keep them busy."

Cheetara then took her charge down the hall, out of sight of the General.

* * *

After they emerged from behind the same mural, neither Cheetara nor Lion-O had spoken a word. As the moon shone above them, they snuck into the palace through the garden. No one saw as they walked through a trail lined with roses.

"Cheetara," the prince finally spoke, "what are you going to do?"

Cheetara was silent for a while. "I am going to tell Jaga and your father everything we saw," she said. "I will tell them where Panthro will be tomorrow and hopefully the City Guard will arrest him."

"You can't!" Lion-O exclaimed suddenly. "He has the answers I need."

"He'll just lie to you, Lion-O," Cheetara said. "He's done it your whole life."

The young prince couldn't help but think of his mother's words. "Anyone can tell us truths," he said, "but they can also tell us lies. We need to decide who is telling what." Lion-O placed a hand on her shoulder. "I need to decide. I have to see him, Cheetara."

The Cleric shook her head. "I can't let you do that, Lion-O," she said. "I can't fail to uphold my oath again."

"You won't," Lion-O said, "you'll be coming with me. I need you to trust me on this, Cheetara." He seemed a bit worried. "You do trust me, don't you?"

A slightly wounded look flashed in her eyes. "Of course I do," Cheetara whispered. "I trust you with all my heart."

They looked into each other's eyes before they embraced. They pressed their lips together as they began to forget all their worries. This kiss was not as raw and passionate as the one they shared on that rooftop. This slow kiss was to reassure each other that they were still here, that everything was going to be okay.

Unfortunately, everything was _not_ going to be okay.


	13. Chapter XIII: The Fall

**I STILL DO NOT OWN THUNDERCATS! **

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XIII: The Fall**_

Lion-O knew he wasn't alone in his bed when he woke up the next morning. The prince opened his eyes to see Cheetara's sleeping form next to him, her head over his heart and arms wrapped around his midsection.

Lion-O suddenly found his anxiety levels spiking up, but soon gave a sigh of relief as he realized that they both were above the covers and still dressed. He tilted his head to place a light kiss on the cheetah's brow, causing her to start to stir.

The Cleric's eyes fluttered as she slowly awoke from her slumber. She quickly looked around the bedroom before her eyes landed back on Lion-O. It almost seemed that she didn't believe what she was seeing.

"Please tell me this is not a dream," Cheetara said, cupping her prince's cheek. "Please tell me that yesterday was real, that what we have is real."

"How about this?" Lion-O said, placing his hand behind her head and claiming her lips. The cheetah moaned into the kiss as she returned his passion. She sighed as they eventually pulled themselves away. "Was that proof enough for you?" the prince asked.

The Cleric gave a devious smirk. "I don't know," Cheetara said coyly. "I think I need more…_convincing_."

Their lips joined together once again, both tongues soon engaging in a passionate duel. Their bodies pressed together as they clung to each other. A door opened and a startled "Eep" sounded through the room. Both Lion-O and Cheetara broke away from their embrace as they saw one of the palace's maids in the doorway. Clean blankets lay before her feet as the maid profusely blushed, clearly scandalized by the sight of the crown prince and his Cleric bodyguard in bed together.

"E-E-Excuse m-me, Your Highness," the maid stuttered before rushing down the palace halls.

Lion-O and Cheetara gazed at each other after she left and decided to leave the prince's bed before they were caught again. They couldn't forget about tonight. They would both have to meet Panthro and hear him out.

"We need a plan to sneak out and head over to the Ring," Lion-O said.

Cheetara nodded in agreement. "We will," she said, "but it will have to wait until later."

"Why not now?" Lion-O asked.

"I have Cleric duties to perform," Cheetara explained. "I can't afford to be late for them. Besides, you have another session of sword training with General Lynx-O."

They both walked to the doorway. "How about we meet alone after lunch?" Lion-O asked. "We can meet in the library and make our plans there."

"Sounds good," Cheetara said nodding. "I'll see you then."

Before Lion-O could say a farewell of his own, the cheetah placed a quick peck on his lips as she rushed off to her Cleric duties. As she left, he couldn't help the big goofy grin that appeared on his face.

* * *

Blades crashed together as Lion-O's lesson with Lynx-O was underway. The general was pushing him harder than usual. This was most likely due to the attack from a few days ago. But Lion-O wasn't one to complain, he was used to tough regiments from Panthro.

"So there's this rumor that's already circulating the palace," Lynx-O said.

Lion-O was concerned. "What sort of rumor?"

A small smirk appeared on the lynx's lips. "One of the maids is saying that you're involved in some illicit tryst with your Cleric friend." Lion-O blushed, but the general didn't need eyes to know he was embarrassed. "She also said that she caught the two of you in bed together. Is that all true?"

Lion-O was bit hesitant in his answer, but he wanted to be honest. "We were together," he said, "but we weren't doing _that_. All we did was sleep, that's it."

Lynx-O seemed thoughtful. "Let's just pray to the gods that your father hasn't heard it yet."

It seemed that the gods showed favor on the young prince. As he was eating lunch with his father and brother, Claudus didn't mention any rumor that was circulating around the palace. But Lion-O did notice Tygra glaring at him from behind his glass; it seemed that he had heard the rumors concerning him and Cheetara.

After lunch was done, Lion-O practically rushed to the library in order to meet Cheetara. Hopefully, the two of them would have a plan to sneak out by sundown at least. After entering the library, it took some searching until the prince found his Cleric pretending to look through the numerous books.

Lion-O silently approached. "Do you have a plan for us to sneak out tonight?" he asked.

"I do," Cheetara answered, "but there is a risk. We may be caught."

"If we want answers," Lion-O said boldly, "we'll need to take that risk. We can't afford _not _to meet Panthro."

Cheetara seemed hesitant; the prince knew that she didn't want him trying to meet with the general. "I found something in the Clericy's archives," she said. "There is a secret tunnel in the throne room that leads outside the palace, built in case of an attack and the royal family needed to flee. Not many people know of it, so it's the perfect way for us to sneak out unnoticed."

"So what's the risk?"

Cheetara seemed grim. "The doors to the throne room are guarded day and night by the Palace Guard. If we want to get into that tunnel, we need some sort of distraction."

"Leave that to us," a young boy's voice said. Lion-O and Cheetara saw both WilyKat and WilyKit carefully leaning against the shelves. "We can outwit any guards in Thundera; we'd have to if we want to see Panthro tonight."

"What's all this 'we' business?" Cheetara asked sternly. "Lion-O and I are meeting with Panthro tonight, and the two of you will remain here at the palace."

"No way!" Kit exclaimed. "We're coming with you guys. We want to see Panthro, too."

"Forget it," Lion said. "I'm sorry, but the two of you can't come with us. If we get caught, you both could be in as much danger as we would."

"You can try to stop us if you want," Kat said, "but we'd follow you any way."

Lion-O sighed and looked to Cheetara. They both knew this was one fight they were not going to win.

* * *

By nightfall, they were ready. Lion-O and Cheetara had already collected the Wilys from their bedroom and were on their way to the throne room. Two guardsmen were there when they reached the doors, hiding out of sight against the walls.

"So," Cheetara said to the kittens, "how are you going to get us into the throne room?"

WilyKat smiled. "Just watch," he said. The Wily drew a small red ball from his pocket and then threw it past where the guards were looking and down the hall. The ball shattered on impact, producing a flash and bang that got the attention of the two guardsmen.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"I don't know," the other guard said. "Let's check it out."

The four cats pressed themselves against the wall as the guards went down the other way. They quickly rounded the corner and opened the throne room doors, silently closing them after they entered.

"Alright," Lion-O said, "we're in." He turned to Cheetara. "How do we find the tunnel?"

Cheetara gestured for the three to follow her, leading them behind the Throne of Thundera and the Thunderian banner. The Cleric pressed on one the wall's bricks, a section of the wall opening like a door.

"Here it is," Cheetara said. "Now let's go meet Panthro."

* * *

They followed the dark and cold tunnel out of the palace walls and proceeded immediately to the slums, brushing off a few cobwebs they caught in their hair. It did not take them long to reach the Ring, the door was no longer guarded by one of the toughest alley cats Thundera had to offer.

Cheetara saw a blank look on her charge's face. "Are you okay, Lion-O?" she asked.

The prince was silent for a moment. "It's just weird being here after all this," he said softly. "I'm a different person now; I'm not the fighting champion anymore."

Cheetara wanted to say something, but Lion-O just walked into the Ring. The Cleric and both Wilys followed closely behind him. They found Lion-O standing behind some of the stands, looking down into the arena below.

The young prince looked from the arena to where the bookies were usually taking bets. He couldn't help but remember back then.

* * *

_**Eleven years ago…**_

"_Okay, Lion-O," Panthro said to a seven year old lion, holding up a gold coin. "Let's try this again." They stood in front of the bookie's stands. "A patron comes up and bets five gold coins on a fighter; the fighter's odds of winning are five-to-one. If the fighter wins, how much gold does the patron get?"_

_The young Lion-O thought on this for a bit. "Twenty-five."_

_Panthro smiled proudly. "Good," he said, "let's try another one. Now.."_

* * *

So many memories of his old home came flooding in, and a few tears flowed down his cheeks before he quickly wiped them away. That was his old life. Lion-O couldn't dwell in the past; he needed to move on.

A familiar booming voice called out to him. "Lion-O!" There was Panthro, standing in the middle of the arena with a wrapped package.

"Panthro!" the Wilys squealed, running down the stands to meet him.

Lion-O and Cheetara slowly walked down as the kittens launched themselves into a bear hug. While no one was looking, Cheetara had slipped a dagger to her charge. "Just in case," she whispered.

"It good to see you kids, too," the general said, "but right now I need to talk to Lion-O."

"About what exactly?" Lion-O asked. "I want answers now, Panthro. Why did you keep me from my father?"

Panthro sighed. "It's all so complicated, Lion-O," he said drearily. "If someone had told me what I know years ago, I wouldn't have believed it. I don't know how to tell you," he motioned to the package, "but maybe this can."

Panthro picked up the package and unwrapped it, revealing the Sword of Omens and the Claw Shield. The sight of this powerful weapon shocked the four cats.

"You stole the sword from the Order of the Hand?" Lion-O asked.

"They don't even know I took it," Panthro said. "We know that the sword showed you a vision, Lion-O. It was trying to warn you about Claudus."

That confused Lion-O. "Why would it warn me about my father?"

"Yes, Panthro, why would it?" Everyone saw Claudus, Jaga, and Grune the Destroyer coming down the stands with several of his soldiers. The soldiers surrounded the group. "You're surrounded, Panthro. Give up now and you will be spared."

"It's going to be a cold day in hell before I surrender," Panthro said.

Claudus's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid you have no choice in this."

Four soldiers came from behind the panther and seized him. The general put up a fight, but couldn't hold up to their combined strength. Lion-O silently cursed. He was close to the answers he wanted, but now they were lost.

Jaga approached the cheetah and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You did well, Cheetara. I'm proud of you."

The prince looked at her in shock. "You told them we were coming here!" Lion-O said hurt as he glared.

Cheetara met his glare. "I did," she said. "I'm sorry, Lion-O, but I was not going to fail my duty again."

Lion-O felt a sharp pain where his heart was. "I thought you trusted me."

The Cleric tensed. "I do trust you, Lion-O," Cheetara spoke softly, then glared at the subdued general, "but I didn't trust _him_."

"She was only doing the right thing, my son," Claudus said. "This man is a traitor to all of Thundera! A traitor to the royal family!"

Lion-O looked at his father, remembering his mother's words. "Do you know that your upper-lip quivers every time you lie?" he asked nonchalantly.

That statement shocked everyone. "Lion-O," Jaga said, "I can assure you that your father is not lying to you."

Lion-O seemed unconvinced. "Then let me ask you this," he said, "and you give me an honest answer. Why did mother go to her parents' estate to give birth to me? I'm the only prince in Thunderian history that was born outside the palace; why is that?"

The king was hesitant. "Your mother wasn't usually one for tradition, Lion-O," Claudus said, his upper-lip quivering. "She wanted something different for your birth and thought the home where she grew up in was good."

"And if I asked Panthro the same thing," Lion-O said, "what would he say?"

This shocked Claudus. "You would trust the word of a traitor over your own father?"

"I'll trust the word of anyone who tells me the truth," Lion-O said sternly.

Claudus sighed before turning to his Head Cleric. "What did I do wrong, Jaga?" he asked softly. "What did I do to make my son mistrust me?"

That was when Lion-O began to take notice of his surroundings. He saw Grune's soldiers, but none of Jaga's Clerics. Claudus was king, why did he not have his Clerics with him now?

"It is not your fault, Claudus," Jaga reassured his monarch. "Lion-O was raised by Panthro since he was an infant; it is only natural that he would have some doubts."

"She was right," Claudus sighed. "The seer was right about everything."

This perplexed Jaga. "Your Majesty?"

Claudus stood up straighter and placed a hand on the Head Cleric. "I'm sorry about all this, Jaga," he said softly. "You have served me and my family faithfully for all these years. I am truly sorry that it had to come to this point."

The Head Cleric seemed concerned. "Forgive me, Claudus, but I'm afraid that—"

Jaga's words died in his throat as Claudus drew a dagger and plunged its blade into the jaguar's chest. Shock and confusion registered on the old cat's face before his body slackened and fell dead onto the floor.

"JAGA!" Cheetara screamed in agony as she ran to her father figure's body. She cradled his head in her lap as she heaved uncontrolled sobs.

Lion-O stared in shock at his father's actions. "How could you?" he asked horrified. "You killed him!"

"No," Claudus growled. "You killed him, Lion-O. Your actions today brought this fate upon Jaga. This was all supposed to end with that assassin."

"You sent the assassin!" Lion-O exclaimed. "Why?"

"With your death, Tygra would be left as my heir," Claudus said. "Thundera needs a strong king, and, as you have shown with those lizards, that is not you. You are as weak as the seer said you would be. You would coddle our enemies until Thundera was nothing but a ruin."

Nothing seemed right to Lion-O. "What seer? What are you talking about?"

Claudus turned away from his son. "That does not matter now," he said calmly. "You and Panthro will be tried for Jaga's murder, the attack on the palace, and the theft of the Sword of Omens." One of Grune's soldiers had both the sword and the Claw Shield in his hands. "All of this, I do for the good of Thundera."

That was all Lion-O had been hearing ever since he was brought to the palace. Everything that had happened seemed to be for the "good of Thundera", and the lion prince was sick of it. But all that mattered now was all the hate and rage he felt for his father.

The dagger Cheetara gave him was in his hand. "YOU BASTARD!" Lion-O roared, lunging forward for the kill.

Grune caught the hand that held the dagger and gave a cruel chuckle. "I've waited a long time for this," the Destroyer said. The saber tooth pulled back his fist and struck the young lion in the face.

After that, Lion-O felt the darkness wash over him.


	14. Chapter XIV: Revelations

**If I could own ThunderCats, I would share my riches with the entire world. But I don't!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XIV: Revelations**_

_Lion-O woke up to the howling winds that echoed around him, forcefully dragging the snow along with it. The gray ominous skies hovered above him, hidden amongst the falling snow. The lion groaned as he lifted himself up from the snow covered ground._

_It took some time for Lion-O to recognize his surroundings; this was where he met his mother in his dream. That was when she tried to warn him about his father, only he didn't know it at that time. If only he had heeded her warning, Jaga would not have lost his life._

"_Do not blame yourself, Lion-O," his mother's voice echoed around him. "Jaga's death was no one's fault but your father's. Even Jaga himself did not know the truth of things."_

_The prince walked forward, trying to follow his mother's voice. "How could Father do this?" Lion-O asked. "What happened to make him a monster?"_

"_Your father is a threat that must be dealt with," Leona said, "but his will has been twisted for so long. His perception has been changed by a puppet whose very strings are pulled by a force of unimaginable power."_

_Lion-O continued onward, hoping to at least find his mother's spirit through this strange blizzard. It was not long before he heard the sobs. The prince pushed forward, hoping to find someone in this…wherever he was. It was then that he saw them._

_He saw his mother, but he also saw Cheetara with her. Leona seemed to be comforting the cheetah, a heavy stream of tears flowing down her cheeks as she gasped fistfuls of air through her sobs._

_Leona tried to softly hush the Cleric. "It's okay, child," she said. "The fault was not your own. You could not have known what would occur."_

_Lion-O looked down at both his mother and Cheetara. "What happened to her? How did she get here?"_

_Leona looked to her son. "After Grune incapacitated you, she tried to attack your father as well."_

_A grim feeling went through the prince. "Is she…" Lion-O couldn't bring the words out._

"_No," the dead queen said, "she is not dead. Cheetara was merely knocked unconscious and, like you, brought here to the Astral Plain."_

_Lion-O looked to the cheetah sitting on the ground, her head pressed against her knees as she cried. He didn't know what to do. Part of him was angry that she betrayed him, but a larger part of him knew that she was only doing what she thought was right. But in the end, it only brought the death of her beloved mentor._

_The prince tried to comfort her. "Cheetara," he said, moving to place his hand on her shoulder._

_The cheetah flinched away from the contact. "Don't look at me," she sobbed._

"_Listen to me, Cheetara," Lion-O said softly. "Jaga's death wasn't your fault; he would tell you that himself if he could."_

"_Don't look at me," Cheetara repeated through her sobs._

_Lion-O gripped both her shoulders. "Jaga's death will not be in vain," he told her. "My father will pay for what he did, that I can promise you. But I can't do it alone, Cheetara. I need help. I need _you_!"_

_Cheetara lifted her head up to look at her prince. Even after everything, he still cared about her. Lion-O said that he needed her; she won't disappoint him again. Determined, she got up from the ground._

"_Claudus will pay," the Cleric said. "I'll make sure of that."_

"_He is not the only threat," Leona spoke up. "There is an evil far greater than him."_

"_What do you mean?" Lion-O asked. What could be worse than his father?_

"_You saw him, Lion-O," Leona explained. "Through the Sword of Omens, you caught a glimpse of the greatest threat to Thundera and all of Third Earth."_

_Lion-O didn't need to ask, he just said one word. "Mumm-Ra."_

"_That impossible," Cheetara said astonished. "Mumm-Ra was destroyed by Leo during the Great Mutiny. How can he still be alive?"_

"_As long as evil exists," Leona explained, "Mumm-Ra will always be a threat. He is an ever living embodiment of all that is wrong in this world, his magic empowered by the Ancient Spirits of Evil."_

"_But what does this have to do with Claudus?" Cheetara asked._

_Leona looked between the two. "Do either of you know how Grune the Destroyer got his name?" she asked them._

_Lion-O nodded. "He once led an army against General Slithe," he said. "They said that he was wiped out along with his entire unit, but he soon showed up at the city gates alive and bruised. When asked, Grune said he butchered his way through Slithe's soldiers before he returned." A look of realization slowly formed on his face. "But that's not what really happened, was it?"_

"_No," Leona said. "Grune was captured by Slithe and brought before Mumm-Ra. Grune was swayed by Mumm-Ra to return to Thundera as his servant."_

"_You said that my father was changed by a puppet," Lion-O said. "Did you mean Grune?"_

_Leona seemed thoughtful, trying to think of what to say before she spoke. "Before you were born," she said, "Claudus and I had trouble conceiving. I prayed to the gods for a child, and that was when Tygra arrived. We did not know from where he had come, but we adopted him and loved him like our own flesh and blood."_

_The queen looked to her son with a smile. "But then I learned I was pregnant with you, Lion-O, and I couldn't be any happier. Your father was excited as well; he would teach you about the kings of old and groom you to become his successor." She was sad for a bit. "Though he was young, Tygra was…disappointed that he would not succeed his father, but he was ecstatic that he would become a brother."_

_Leona's eyes narrowed at her next words. "When I was near the time when I would give birth," she said bitterly, "Grune began to whisper in your father's ear. Though the words were his, they were laced with Mumm-Ra's dark magic. Grune began to tell your father about a seer that he had seen, how she said that you would be the downfall of Thundera. Your father did not believe this at first, but the power behind Grune persuaded him to see this seer."_

_Leona sneered. "But she was no seer," she hissed, "just another one of Mumm-Ra's pawns. She showed your father a false vision of what you would be. The false seer showed you as a weak king who would roll over to appease the other races, and that you would lead Thundera to its destruction. Claudus was horrified at what he saw, and he began to take action against you."_

"_But why?" Cheetara asked. "Why would Mumm-Ra brainwash the king into believing these things about Lion-O?"_

"_Because he was afraid," Leona simply said. "Even a powerful being like Mumm-Ra feels fear. He foresaw you, Lion-O, to be a threat to his return. He knew that you would defeat him as Leo did before. That was when he decided to end you before you became a threat."_

"_But what about Tygra?" Lion-O asked. "Where was my brother in all of this? What does father believe will happen if Tygra was king?"_

_Leona seemed thoughtful. "Tygra knew nothing of any of this," she said, "he believed what he had been told. Claudus believed that Tygra would be a stronger king than you could. He had Tygra trained as a warrior, and had him tutored by great strategists. He knew that when the time was right, Tygra would be ready to go to war with any 'threat' that dared to cross the kingdom. Tygra would never retreat, nor would he ever surrender or show mercy to anyone who tried."_

_Leona looked down sadly at her feet. "But that is exactly what Mumm-Ra wanted," the queen said, lifting her head back up. "Tygra would lead legions of our people to their deaths, and in the end, Thundera would fall. And when we are destroyed, the rest of Third Earth would follow."_

"_Tell us about, Claudus," Cheetara said. "Tell us about his plot against Lion-O."_

_Thundera's late queen was hesitant. "He planned on killing him while he was still in my womb," tears brimmed at her eyes, "even if it meant my death." She quickly wiped the tears away and continued on. "While he was still a general, Panthro was the first to learn of this plot and soon gathered many who were against this to my side. He then took me away from the palace and brought me to my parents' estate to give birth to you there."_

"_That was when he attacked, right?" Lion-O asked. It was the only explanation left._

_Leona said nothing; she just disappeared before their eyes. That was when the blizzard suddenly cleared out, leaving them in the middle of a courtyard._

_No, not a courtyard, it was more like a warzone._

_Thunderian fought Thunderian with sword and shield and spear. One side wore the armor of Grune's personal soldiers, while the other was the personal guard of Leona's house. Lion-O and Cheetara walked past the fighting apparitions and found themselves at a staircase on the far side of the courtyard._

_The two climbed the steps, watching the battle before them escalate. Once they reached the top, they saw Panthro and another soldier emerge from behind a set of double doors. They walked straight through Lion-O and Cheetara and looked below to see the battle._

"_There they are!" Panthro shouted, pointing down to the courtyard._

_Both prince and Cleric looked down to see both Grune and Claudus walking through the courtyard with their weapons. Claudus was cutting down enemies with a sword (not the Sword of Omens), while Grune swung hard with his mace._

"_Get to the Queen and the Prince," the soldier said, drawing two short swords from their sheathes, "I'll handle those two."_

_The soldier ran swiftly down the marble stairs and engaged the General and King in battle. The soldier tried to strike at the king with both swords, but was blocked by Claudus' own sword. Grune swung low with his mace, knocking down the soldier as he hit his legs. Claudus took this opportunity to shove his blade into the soldier with a downward stab._

_Panthro grimaced at his ally's death. He quickly ran back through the doors and into the estate with Lion-O and Cheetara following close behind the apparition. They followed him up another flight of stairs and down a grand hallway before they entered the master bedroom._

_Beneath the purple bed sheets laid Leona, Queen of Thundera and mother to its new Prince, cradling a wrapped bundle that cooed in her arms. Lion-O and Cheetara watched the General slowly approach the bed that held the resting mother._

"_Your Majesty," he addressed her, "your husband and General Grune are right outside."_

_Leona only gazed down lovingly at her newborn son. "He is so beautiful, Panthro," the queen said softly. "Lion-O, my little one, he is our only hope for the future, that is what she told me."_

_Panthro seemed confused by her words. "We need to get you both out of here," he said urgently, "before they come and harm you and the prince."_

_Leona only paid attention to her son's cooing. "You will bare a great burden, my son," she whispered. "But I know that you will be as strong as she said you would be. You, Lion-O, will be the shining light that blazes through the darkness."_

_She kissed the baby's brow. "It is too late for me, Panthro," Leona said. "My time is past, but you can still save Lion-O."_

"_I'm sorry, Your Majesty," the panther said, "but I can't just leave you here to die."_

"_It will not be in vain," Leona said. "Lion-O will be safe, you must take him."_

_Panthro hesitantly nodded. "As you wish, My Queen, I will make sure to take him safely to Valern."_

"_No!" Thundera's Queen exclaimed. "You will not take him to Valern and his 'Order'. You must take him and hide him away in Thundera. It is the last place Claudus would look."_

"_Your Majesty," Panthro said shocked, "I have my orders."_

"_What is more important," Leona's eyes narrowed, "your orders, or your Queen's last wish?" Panthro seemed hesitant. "Please, Panthro, he is meant for a different path. I need you to promise me that you will do what is best for Lion-O."_

_Panthro nodded with a determined look on his face. "I promise to do what is best."_

_Leona placed one last kiss on her son's cheek. "I love you, Lion-O," she whispered. "Know that I will always be here, even if I'm not."_

_Leona gave her son to the general, and both Lion-O and Cheetara watched him take the baby lion out to the hallway. Panthro heard the echo of footsteps down the halls and ducked into a nearby passage. The panther hid himself behind a pillar as the lion and cheetah saw both Claudus and Grune walk past._

_When the baby Lion-O gave out a slight whimper, Grune paused and looked down the hallway. Lion-O and Cheetara knew that this was only an echo of the past, all the Destroyer saw was an empty hallway. Grune sniffed before continuing on._

_Panthro silently but quickly ran down the hallway and pulled down the edge of a pillar. A section of the wall opened up and revealed a hidden passage that was shown to him earlier. The prince and Cleric followed the general and baby as they reached cold cavern walls. They emerged from the mouth of a cave and into a light snowfall._

_Lion-O and Cheetara followed the two through the snow-covered plain in front of them, the crunching footsteps leading the way. They turned as one as they all heard the roar behind them. Grune ran forward toward Panthro and the baby, his mace at the ready._

_Panthro carefully rolled to the right as the saber tooth's mace hammered down and the General grabbed his nunchaku. Balancing baby Lion-O on his left arm, the panther gave a series of quick strikes to Grune's face. One last strike landed on his jaw, his right fang flying through the air and into the snow._

_An unconscious Grune fell on his back as Panthro quickly ran as fast as possible from the estate. The only thing on the panther's mind was getting the baby to someplace warm. He left behind Lion-O and Cheetara as he ran away._

_It seemed that some time had flashed forward, as Claudus had appeared and picked up Grune's missing fang from the snow. He grimly turned to Grune, who was being helped up by his soldiers. Claudus gripped the fang tightly before throwing it back onto the snowy ground._

_The blizzard returned and Leona appeared in front of them. "Since that day," she said solemnly, "Claudus knew that as long as you were alive, you would always be threat to him. His search for you was endless," the queen then turned to Cheetara, "until she found you in the Ring."_

"_So what do we do now?" Lion-O asked. "We know that my father is a threat, but so is Mumm-Ra. What are we supposed to do now?"_

"_There is only one thing you can do now." Lion-O and Cheetara turned in shock to see Jaga approach the group._

"_Jaga," Cheetara whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, "I—"_

_The Head Cleric placed a hand on the cheetah's shoulder. "It is okay, Cheetara, I would never blame you for this. The fault was my own for not seeing things clearly." Jaga turned to Lion-O and Leona. "Your Majesty, Lion-O, I am truly sorry for what has been done. If I had only known—"_

"_Then you would have been killed sooner," Leona said grimly. "The Claudus we knew is gone, Jaga, replaced by what Mumm-Ra's magic has twisted him into."_

_Jaga nodded sadly. "You are right," he said. "But still, Mumm-Ra is a greater threat, one that must be dealt with."_

"_But how?" Cheetara asked. "Leo used the Sword of Omens against Mumm-Ra, but he has still returned."_

"_That is why you must seek out the Book of Omens," Jaga said._

"_But the Book has been lost for countless centuries," Cheetara said. "Many have gone out in search for it, but none have ever succeeded."_

"_That is because none of those men were Head Cleric, my dear," Jaga said sagely. "It resides within the Tower of Omens, placed there by the ancient Clerics of old. The knowledge of where it was has been passed down from Head Cleric to Head Cleric for generations."_

"_Then how do we get there?" Lion-O asked determined. "If we need the Book, then we'll find it."_

"_I can give each of you half of the knowledge to find your way there," Jaga said. "That way, if either of you is captured, the enemy will not be able to find it without the other. Are you ready?"_

_Lion-O and Cheetara nodded. Leona went to her son and embraced him. "I love you, my son," she whispered, placing a kiss on his cheek, "take care." She then went to the cheetah. "I know you will protect him well, Cheetara. He will always look to you when he has no one else, remember this."_

_Leona backed away in order for Jaga to come forward. The Head Cleric placed both his hands against their foreheads, and in a flash of light…_

* * *

…Lion-O awoke to see WilyKit hovering above him. "He's awake!" she cried out happily.

"Cheetara is too," WilyKat said.

They both pushed themselves off from the cold and dank stone floors of the Royal Palace's dungeons. They groaned as Panthro approached them both from the cell door.

"You two, okay?" he asked. "The both of you were out of it for a while."

"How long were we out?" Lion-O asked, his voice rasped slightly.

"A couple of hours at most," Panthro said. "The two of you mumbled for a bit. Did you both share some sort of dream?"

Both Lion-O and Cheetara told the three cats of what had happened in the Astral Plain. How they were told about the threat of Mumm-Ra. How they had seen what really happened at Queen Leona's estate. How Jaga had given them the knowledge to find the Book of Omens.

"Valern needs to know about this," Panthro said. "The Order of the Hand needs to know about Mumm-Ra."

"My mother mentioned Valern," Lion-O said, "but we don't know everything about the Order."

Panthro seemed thoughtful. "When I learned about the plot against your mother, Lion-O, I gathered many lords and generals to help defend her." He paused for a bit. "Valern was one of these lords. He and many others decided that if anything were to happen to the Queen, then they would be the ones to help guide you. That was when they formed the Order of the Hand. They have acted in secrecy for over eighteen years; no one has ever found them."

"Until now," Cheetara said shamefully. "When I told Claudus and Jaga about the meeting tonight, I also told them everything about the Order. Claudus is sending the City Guard to clear out their lair."

"Panthro said you might do that, so we came up with this plan."

The cats turned to see Pumyra leaning forward against the cell door. They all (except for Panthro) were shocked by her presence.

"Right on schedule, Pumyra," Panthro said. "Do you know where Claudus put the Sword of Omens?"

The puma scoffed. "That arrogant fool had it returned to the armory. How stupid can you be to put it back in a room that still has a giant hole in its doors?"

"Claudus thinks he's won," Panthro said. "We can use that to our advantage." Pumyra picked the lock to the cell open. "Alright, time to start the distraction."

The other four cats seemed confused, and for good reason. "What distraction?" Lion-O asked, saying what they were all thinking.

Pumyra pulled out a small black cylinder with a red button on top. "This one," she said, pressing hard on the red switch.


	15. Chapter XV: Inferno

**As always: I. Do. Not. Own. ThunderCats.**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XV: Inferno**_

"You can't be serious!" Lynx-O's shocked voice echoed through the palace's halls. "This has to be some sort of joke!"

"Believe me, General," Claudus said, "I would never joke over something like this. Lion-O, my son, has been cooperating with the traitor Panthro ever since we found him in that arena. He and his Cleric guardian have been collaborating with the traitor in helping him steal the Sword of Omens."

Tygra stood amongst his father, Lynx-O, Grune, and several of Grune's soldiers. He could not believe what he was hearing, did not want to believe it. Claudus was basically accusing his brother and _her_ of treachery, of attempting to overthrow the King of Thundera, the Lord of the ThunderCats.

"Father," the tiger prince said, "we need to be absolutely sure about all of this."

"What is there to be sure about, Tygra?" Claudus boomed. "I saw your brother and that cheetah girl of his meet with Panthro before they murdered Jaga. For their crimes, they shall be tried and executed."

Tygra wished that he hadn't heard that. They were going to execute Cheetara! They can't; she would never murder Jaga. But Lion-O…Yes, he must have manipulated her into all this. Maybe there was a chance.

"Father," Tygra said, "the Cleric, Cheetara, she may be innocent in all this."

Claudus grumbled. "Don't be so absurd, son," he said dismissively. "What makes you think she is innocent?"

"You've heard the rumors about her and Lion-O," Tygra said. "He may've seduced her into doing what he wants."

Grune snickered a bit, seeing Tygra's plea as some sort of joke. "Like that would actually happen," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, Tygra," Claudus said. "I cannot allow a traitor like her to be exempt from justice. She, Lion-O, and Panthro will be made examples of. Traitors like them and this Order of the Hand will not be tolerated."

"Your Majesty!" The four turned to see Captain Cabrae and several of his guardsmen approaching the king and his group.

"Captain," Claudus greeted whole-heartedly, "I suppose congratulations are in order. You and your City Guard did a fine job in exterminating this order of seditionists."

Cabrae seemed grim. "I'm afraid not, Your Majesty," the captain of the City Guard said. "There have been some…complications."

Claudus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you mean? What 'complications' do you speak of?"

Captain Cabrae was hesitant. "The information you were given was most likely wrong," he said. "We used the necklace you gave us and followed the directions as well. But then when we got there, we could find no one."

"What are you talking about?" Grune asked. This was not right.

"It seemed that everyone had cleared out of that lair of theirs," the Captain said. "They took all their weapons and Technology; even that machine that attacked the palace was gone."

As one of Grune's soldiers took his helmet off to wipe his forehead, the others grimaced. The Order of the Hand wouldn't disappear like this…unless they knew what was going to happen. They must have known that the City Guard was heading their way.

"Panthro," Tygra said in realization, "he knew that we would go after them."

With that, the helmetless soldier cried out as a clear liquid soaked his head. Everyone looked up to see a strange black disc stuck to the ceiling. The clear liquid was falling from the disk and pooling on the floor and began to spread. Then, as quickly as it began, the strange fluid stopped flowing from the disk.

It was then that a bright orange drop fell from the disk and into the clear liquid.

Intense flames surged from the liquid and spread through the halls. The soldier's head caught fire as well, screaming in agony as the fire burned his flesh. His fellow soldiers pulled drapes from the windows and tried to put the fire out, others tried to do the same thing all over the hall.

"By the gods!" Claudus exclaimed. How could this have happened?

"King Claudus!" a palace guard called out. "There are fires starting all over the palace."

"This is Panthro's doing," Grune snarled. "This is the work of his _Technology_."

"We need to evacuate, Your Majesty," the guardsmen said. "These fires are too dangerous."

"No!" Claudus boomed. "We cannot afford to evacuate." He turned to Cabrae. "Captain, take your men into the city and do crowd control. At this time of night, the peasants can see the fires all the way to the city wall." The king then turned to the Destroyer. "Send some of your men to the armory; they may try and take back the Sword of Omens."

Tygra did not wait for his father to give him any orders. He raced down the hallway, his whip in hand.

* * *

Pumyra led the group of five cats out of the dungeons. Two guards tried to stop them, but the puma made short work of them with her arrows. Panthro grabbed the head of one guard that tried to attack him and simply slammed him against the wall.

"We need to get to the armory," the general said. "They'll most likely move the sword before we get to it."

"I still don't understand," Lion-O said as they all raced down the halls. "If you and the Order knew that Cheetara would tell Claudus, why bring the Sword of Omens.?"

"The sword only works with you, Lion-O," Panthro said. "You need to have it, even if there was a risk that Claudus could reclaim it."

As they neared the armory, they began to encounter some of General Grune's soldiers. When Pumyra's arrows weren't enough, the other cats had to take the others on their own. Panthro had his nunchaku and Cheetara had her Bo staff, but Lion-O had to use his own fists and various fighting skills to defend himself. The Wilys helped when they could, throwing colorful balls that produced either sparks or smoke.

They soon reached the armory, the doors still having the same hole they did when the Palace was attacked. And just like Pumyra said, on the pedestal in the center of the royal armory was the Sword of Omens, still resting in the sheath of the Claw Shield.

"There it is," Lion-O whispered.

He could hear the humming again. It was the same hum that made him use the sword when it showed him that vision, when he first used Sight Beyond Sight. Lion-O slowly walked to the pedestal. For some reason, he can't help but imagine the black slit in the Eye of Thundera following his movements, as if the Eye itself was watching him.

The humming echoed louder as he reached the pedestal. Lion-O removed the Sword of Omens from the shield, the blade and guard extending in his grip. Beyond the humming, he heard his friends shouting. More of Grune's soldiers were on the way.

Lion-O placed his left arm into the Claw Shield, the golden metal glowing as it did. The lion felt it forming a firm fit around his arm, the claws of the very shield moved as he flexed his fingers. The Eye of Thundera glowed red as Lion-O came to an understanding. With his crimes, Claudus was unfit to be king. It was his time now. This sword and shield marked Lion-O as the _true_ Lord of the ThunderCats.

Lion-O exited the armory, passing his friends as he did. In front of him were Grune's soldiers. They seemed surprised that he had done something their king had not done in almost two decades: successfully wield the Sword of Omens.

One soldier saw this as an insult to Leo's memory, as an insult to Thundera itself. He gripped his sword with both hands as he ran forward; an arrogant roar echoed from his throat that made him think he could strike down this "traitorous prince" with one hit.

The soldier hammered the sword downward, but his eyes widened in shock as the blade shattered against the strong metal of the Claw Shield. The Sword of Omens cut through the armor, hitting flesh and blood as Lion-O performed his slash. The soldier's body slackened as he fell dead onto the floor.

Another soldier saw his friend's death and was enraged. Thinking he could avenge him, he charged towards Lion-O with his own sword. Lion-O quickly blocked the attack with the Sword of Omens. What the soldier did not expect was his head being grabbed with the Claw Shield and thrown hard to the wall, his head cracking the tough surface as he hit it.

Two soldiers attacked as one. The Sword of Omens sparked lightning from it blade as Lion-O cut through their weapons and armor in two strikes. A third soldier attacked with his spear, thrusting its blade to impale the prince. Lion-O evaded the spear and gave a mighty slash and the soldier fell dead with his allies.

The last soldier stood still before the prince, a war hammer gripped in both of his hands. He lunged forward, prepared to strike with his weapon. Lion-O easily caught the war hammer in the grasp of his Claw Shield. The soldier felt fear for the last time as the lion stabbed the blade through his armor, and he fell afterwards.

The other cats stood in awe at what they had seen as the prince sheathed the sword. "Damn," Pumyra cursed, "I'm sure glad to be on your side."

"We need to get out of here now," Panthro said, "before more soldiers come for us."

"The escape tunnel in the throne room," Cheetara said quickly. "I meant what I said, not many know about it. All I told Claudus and Jaga was that I knew of a way to get out unseen."

"How do we know you're not just leading us into another trap?" Pumyra asked accusingly.

"She isn't," Lion-O said, defending her. "Cheetara has her own reasons to see my father brought to justice. Besides, all other possible exits will be under heavy guard."

"Alright," Panthro nodded, "secret escape tunnel it is."

The six cats raced down the hallways until they eventually reached the throne room, part of the room (as was most of the palace) seemed to be on fire. They all rushed to the tunnel entrance.

"LION-O!" The prince turned to see Grune the Destroyer calmly walking into the throne room. The saber tooth carried his mace with both hands as a sinister smirk formed on his face, the fire showing the general's cruelty. "Where're you going, boy? Have you finally figured out that you're afraid?"

The lion snarled. "I've nothing to fear from Mumm-Ra's pawn," Lion-O said bravely.

Grune chuckled darkly. "So, you know about Mumm-Ra," he said. "It doesn't matter. Even if you did tell Claudus, he wouldn't believe you."

"What did Mumm-Ra promise you, Grune?" Lion-O asked. "Was it wealth? Was it power?"

"I grew tired of serving," Grune said, "and Mumm-Ra promised me Thundera's throne after all of this."

Lion-O merely shook his head. "He'll just betray you," he said.

The Destroyer's smirk grew. "Not unless I betray him first," Grune said madly. Disgusted with the general, Lion-O turned to leave. "Don't tell me you're leaving already. Would you really walk away from your mother's killer?"

Lion-O suddenly turned to the General, whose cruel smile was plain on his face. "We couldn't just leave her alive after what she saw," he said, "and Claudus didn't even have the guts to kill her himself."

Grune caressed the head of his weapon. "This very mace, Lion-O," he said, deranged, "is a part of me, and I am a part of it. Everyone I have ever killed has become a part of it, just like your mother did when I crushed her skull with it."

Lion-O balled his fist as his rage began to boil. Standing a few feet away from him was his mother's killer. He would not, _could not_, let him live after this.

Cheetara tugged on his arm. "Lion-O," she said, "we have to leave."

"No," he seethed. He shrugged her off and strode forward as he drew the Sword of Omens.

"You can't do this, Lion-O!" the cheetah tried to persuade him. "This is what he wants!"

"I don't care," the lion snarled. "Just take the others and go. I'll be fine."

Cheetara seemed unsure for a bit, but nodded as she guided the others through the entrance. She prayed to the gods that Lion-O would come back to her in the end.

Grune watched Lion-O walking to him, Sword of Omens in hand. "You are either very brave," he began, "or very stupid. Either way, I will finally kill you."

Lion-O growled in response. "Not unless I kill you first," he snarled, lunging forward with his sword.

The blade collided with the mace's head, a clang echoing through the room. Both sword and mace were swung and met one another. Grune hammered downward, with Lion-O grabbing the head with the Claw Shield. Lion-O took advantage of his distraction and kicked the general in the gut.

Grune staggered backward, only to barely block an attack from the Sword of Omens. "You can't get me that easily, boy," the Destroyer seethed.

"We'll see," Lion-O snarled, resuming his attacks.

* * *

Cheetara stopped in her tracks as they were running down the tunnel. Pumyra took notice of this and turned to her, the Wilys by her side.

"Hey, Cleric," she called, "quit stalling. We need to get going!"

Cheetara looked back the way she came, to where Lion-O was fighting Grune. He may have told her to go, but she could not just leave him alone with the Destroyer.

She turned to the puma with a determined look. "Watch after them," she said, gesturing to the Wilys. She then raced the other way, disappearing in a gold blur.

"Cheetara!" both kittens hollered.

"No you don't," Pumyra said, grabbing them both and guiding them the other way. "Trust me, she had the look of a woman who's about to kick someone's ass."

* * *

Lion-O grunted as he blocked another attack with the Claw Shield, staggering a bit from the force of the blow. Grune swung his mace again. But as Lion-O blocked the attack, the very force of it threw him backwards with the prince landing in front of the thrones.

"You're mine, boy!" the Destroyer roared in triumph as he moved in for the kill.

A gold blur suddenly appeared from behind the Thunderian banner and landed a kick square in his chest. Cheetara then brought out her fully extended staff and began a rapid series of strikes, both ends of her weapon striking the weak parts of Grune's armor. One last hit struck him in the face, causing the saber tooth to collapse on his back.

Cheetara ran to her prince. "Lion-O," she said urgently, "we need to go now."

"I can't," the lion growled. "Not until he dies for what he did."

Cheetara tried to say something, but was cut off as a blast of energy shot her from behind and sent her flying into the Throne of Thundera. The cheetah groaned as she slumped over the seat of power.

"CHEETARA!" Lion-O screamed in dread.

The prince turned to see where the blast came from and only saw the Destroyer. The spikes of Grune's mace arced and surged with green energy as it converged on the top of the weapon's head.

"A little gift from Mumm-Ra," the saber tooth gloated. "Did you really think that Panthro and his puny order were the only ones with Technology?"

Grune shot another blast towards Lion-O, who was barely able to avoid the attack. The Destroyer fired a salvo of energy blasts toward the prince, who was able to avoid them. Lion-O finally reached Grune and swung the Sword of Omens, the blade surging with lightning as it collided with the mace.

Each struggled to overcome their opponent. "Give it up, boy," Grune hissed. "You can't win. I've killed skilled warriors before you were even born."

Lion-O snarled. "You want to know what I learned in the Ring, Grune?" Lion-O asked while balling the Claw Shield into a fist. "I learned how to improvise!"

The shield collided with Grune's jaw, knocking the helmet off the saber tooth's head as he stumbled back. The Destroyer snarled as he prepared to fire another blast of energy, charging the mace for his most powerful attack.

Lion-O once again heard the humming in his head, the thoughts echoing in his mind. The Eye of Thundera glowed brightly as he brought the guard up to his head. Time seemed to almost slow down as Grune fired his blast.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lion-O roared as a red beam was fired from the sword's sacred jewel. Both attacks collided against each other, the streams of power fighting against one another. It was no surprise that the raw power of the Eye of Thundera would overcome Grune's mace. The red current of energy soon collided with the Destroyer's mace.

The mace exploded and sent Grune onto his back, his armor broken and ruined. But Lion-O wasn't done with the general yet. He raced forward, the Claw Shield balled into a fist again. The lion lunged on top of the Destroyer and punched him with the golden shield. After two more punches, Lion-O hammered his fist onto the saber tooth's face. Grune's eyes were no longer open after that, nothing but silence came from him.

Lion-O lifted himself up from the ground, spitting on the general as he did. "That was for Cheetara," he seethed. The lion returned his sword to its sheath as he raced to the Cleric, cradling her carefully in his arms. "Wake up, Cheetara! Please, Cheetara, you need to get up."

Lion-O was so engrossed with the cheetah girl, that he did not notice Grune rising from the ground. The Destroyer picked up a piece of his mace with a spike on it and began to carefully and painfully approach the lion. The saber tooth's swollen mouth curled in a cruel smile as he came closer to the prince. A surge of triumph went through him as he hammered the spike downward.

Grune's triumph then turned to dread as Lion-O blocked the oncoming threat with his shield. That dread then became fear as Lion-O drew the Sword of Omens. All that Grune felt then was the agonizing pain of the blade going through his chest, piercing his heart along the way.

As his life slipped away, the last thing the Destroyer heard was the prince hissing in his ear. "And _that_ was for my mother, _you bastard_!" Grune's lifeless eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slipped off the blade and fell dead onto the floor. The general's bulky body gave a loud thud as he landed flat on his back.

Lion-O gave a large sigh of relief and sheathed his sword, having finally ended the life of the pawn that had corrupted his father and killed his mother. The lion turned toward Cheetara, but something tied itself around his leg and tripped him. Lion-O fell to the floor on his chest as a bolo whip wrapped around his neck, his air cut off as he was choked.

"_You bastard_!" his brother's voice seethed as he pressed his foot on the lion's back. "How could you do all this?"

"Tygra," Lion-O rasped, "you don't understand."

"Oh, I understand," Tygra roared. "You're a traitor, Lion-O. You stole the sword; you killed Grune…and manipulated _her_ into doing your bidding. You ruined Cheetara's life for your own selfish actions.

Lion-O gasped desperately for air. "You don't know what you're doing."

"That's just it, Lion-O," Tygra said, not seeing the cheetah regaining consciousness, "I know exactly what I'm doing. I am going to _end_ you here before you destroy everything this kingdom stands for."

"NO!" Tygra saw Cheetara with her staff racing towards him. He dropped his whip as the Cleric's staff struck him in the face, dazing him with the throbbing pain. Cheetara was not done, however, and kept attacking him.

"Don't—"

Tygra felt another hit to his head.

"—you—"

A third hit struck him in the gut, knocking the wind out of the tiger.

"—ever—"

A strike to his legs had him falling on his back.

"—_HURT HIM AGAIN_!"

Yesterday in the garden, Cheetara imagined herself beating the tiger prince with her staff. Now that fantasy became a reality as she violently struck him again and again. Even though Tygra has been knocked unconscious, she still attacked him with her staff.

Lion-O finally got the whip off his neck. "Cheetara!" he yelled grabbing her hands, his touch calming her. "You need to stop! We need to go now!"

The lion had somehow managed to get her through the tunnel entrance and down the passage. It was not long before Palace Guards came and discovered Tygra on the throne room's floor.

* * *

"How long until they get here?" Panthro asked the three other cats, pacing around the arena floor of the Ring. "We never should have left them alone with Grune." Lion-O and Cheetara then chose that moment to barge through the Ring's entrance. "It's about time you two got here, let's go."

"Not yet," Lion-O said.

"What?" Panthro gasped. "Lion-O, we need to get out now before the guards come here to look for us."

"Not until I get my stash," Lion-O said, heading to his old room with the others following him.

The lion entered his room and went to his bed. Lion-O lifted up the mattress, revealing four burlap bags.

"What's all this?" Panthro asked.

Lion-O undid the tie to one of the bags. "Just my share of the take."

Everyone gasped at all the gold coins that the bag contained. Everyone knew that Lion-O took a third of all the money that WilyKat and WilyKit stole, but they did not expect him to save all of it.

"Wow," Kit said. "There's enough in there to buy half the City Guard."

"I thought I could make a little donation to the Order of the Hand," Lion-O said. "If I'm going to work with them, I might as well help out a bit."

Panthro looked to the bag, then the other three he had hidden. All that gold would do more than just help. "All right then," Panthro smirked. "Let's load up."


	16. Chapter XVI: This New Path

**Here's the final chapter. What a long strange journey this has been. I would like to shout out a great big THANK YOU to Prarie24 for all her help as my Beta reader. As always, I OWN NOTHING!**

_**ThunderCats: Sword of Kings**_

_**Chapter XVI: This New Path**_

As the setting sun cast shadows over the main courtyard of the Royal Palace, Claudus stood between two funeral pyres. He looked to the full regiment of soldiers and gathering of various nobles that had come to mourn and grieve. The King was surprised to see the nobility gathering together on such short notice.

"Yesterday," Claudus boomed, "in the dead of night, we were betrayed by those we believed to be one of us." The mighty lion gestured to the palace behind him, already under repairs from the fires. "My son, Lion-O, along with his treacherous Cleric, has stolen the Sword of Omens and delivered it into the hands of the traitor Panthro and his seditionist order."

The new Crown Prince Tygra heard his father's speech as he stood under guard of some Clerics. His broken arm was in a sling, bandages bound a few of his cracked ribs together, and a few bruises and swellings marred his handsome face. Thoughts of last night continued to plague him as the king continued on.

"But this was not their only mark of betrayal," Claudus said. "They were also responsible for the unjust murders of our revered General Grune and our beloved Head Cleric, Lord Jaga."

As he said this, all eyes were on the two bodies that rested on the wooden pyres. On the left was General Grune; the saber tooth was adorned in gold ceremonial armor and the shattered pieces of his mace were placed around him. Jaga was in the other pyre beside him and dressed in ceremonial robes with his Cleric staff grasped in both hands.

"Their deaths will not be forgotten," Claudus went on. "We will not forget the sacrifices they made in defending our great kingdom from treachery and deception. Today we will grieve, and tomorrow we will begin our hunt for those who wish to see everything we have built crumble to dust and ash."

Claudus walked off to stand by his son as two Clerics approached the pyres with torches in their hands. Tygra watched them light the pyres, the flames beginning to feed from the wood and dead flesh. It was not long before the smoke began to climb up to the sky.

Tygra watched the flames flicker as he recounted the events from the night before. The doctor said that the injuries to his body would heal, but he knew that the wound in his heart would not. Every injury he received from his beating was like a nail through his soul.

_Cheetara…why?_

Lion-O was a traitor to Thundera. He had stolen the Sword of Omens, brutally killed General Grune in combat, and murdered Jaga, Cheetara's mentor and father figure, in cold blood. Yet despite all this, _she_ came to his defense when Tygra tried to stop him for good.

_Cheetara…why?_

The tiger remembered the young cheetah girl he gave the Day Astrid to and the grateful spark in her eyes. Now all Tygra could picture was the cold fury in those fuchsia irises as she attacked him with her staff.

_Cheetara…why?_

A lone tear slipped down his cheek, falling from his chin and dripping onto the cold stone below.

_Why?_

* * *

Lynx-O never liked funerals. With his heightened smell, the scent of charred flesh always burned his nostrils. But he was here for Grune, who was a good friend and ally. He had died honorably in service to the crown and all of Thundera.

If only he believed that was the case.

Lynx-O knew that something was afoul with Grune. Ever since Lion-O's return, the saber tooth was always on edge. He didn't need eyes to know that.

After the general's death, Lynx-O and several soldiers collected his late ally's belonging from his bedroom. It was by accident the blind cat uncovered the false bottom. There he had found what felt like a jewel.

Lynx-O felt the jewel. It was a perfect sphere, no edges or anything else. But what was obvious was the sense of over whelming dread that came with holding that thing. Something felt evil about it. Something that made the general take it to the nearest canal and throw it into a river.

Still, the unnatural feeling remained even hours after he disposed of it.

Grune had his secrets like any other cat, but the one behind that jewel may be something that could have brought his loyalties into question. For now though, Lynx-O would wait until this secret revealed itself.

* * *

A baker, a merchant, a blacksmith, and an off-duty city guardsman sat together in one of Thundera's taverns. They sat at a table on the far side, a good distance away from the other patrons. They seemed to be deeply involved in a game of cards.

"So," the merchant said, "what's with all that smoke at the palace?"

"You mean you don't know?" the guardsman asked shocked. "General Grune and Lord Jaga were killed yesterday. Today is their funeral."

"How was I supposed to know that?" the merchant asked annoyed, tossing a coin onto the pile. "Not a lot of gossip going through the market lately."

The baker studied his cards. "So," he said suddenly, "who do you think did it?"

This brought a confused look on the blacksmith's face. "What are talking about?"

The baker looked annoyed. "I mean," he groaned, "who you guys think really killed Lord Jaga? Do you think it was Claudus or Grune?"

"My money's on Grune," the guardsman said. "That cat was more blood thirsty than a rabid jackalman."

"Well I say it was Claudus," the merchant drew a card from the deck. "He's been unpredictable ever since the Queen's death." They all bowed slightly in respect for her. "Who knows what that madman is capable of?"

The group showed their cards and slight groans sounded, the baker won this hand. He collected his winnings as the merchant gathered all the cards and reshuffled the deck.

The new cards were passed around. "I've heard word from our brothers in the Palace Guard and the Clerics," the guardsman said. "Claudus believes that all of us have fled the city."

The blacksmith snorted. "Why the hell would he think that?" he grumbled.

The baker made his bet. "Grand Master Valern and the council did leave," he said. "Not to mention that General Panthro left with Prince Lion-O in the ThunderTank. Why wouldn't he think that?"

"Well, we haven't fled," the guardsman said, pressing his finger down on the table. "We are still the eyes and ears of the Order. We must watch everyone and hear everything."

The other three nodded at this. Their reach was not as finite as Claudus would believe. They were everywhere, and they were everyone. They were the most influential noble and the lowliest beggar. They would watch and listen until the time was ready to return and bring Thundera into a new golden age.

After all, they were the Hand that will guide Thundera.

* * *

Panthro was in discussion with Pumyra on where to meet the rest of the Order. She said something about them heading to this village of "Ro-Bear Berbils." The puma was telling him about a stronghold they had been building for some time.

All the while, Panthro was keeping an eye on the cheetah Cleric, who was now watching Lion-O leaning against a tree. "So," the old cat said, "will all this gold Lion-O's bringing really help the Order?"

Pumyra smirked. "It never hurts to have someone in your pocket, General," she said. "A lot of gold can go a long way."

"Is that really wise?" Cheetara asked, unwavering under the panther's stare. She knew that it would take a while for him to trust her. "What guarantee do we have that whoever we bribe with this gold to will stay loyal to us?"

"Don't worry about it," Panthro said. "That's the Order of the Hand's problem, not ours."

"Yes, I've been meaning to talk to you about the Order," Cheetara said; it was her turn to glare. "Queen Leona wanted Lion-O to have nothing to do with these people, and now we're going to them to help."

Panthro grimaced. "We don't exactly have a choice," he said dismissively.

"We always have a choice," the cheetah argued.

"Not this time," Pumyra countered, "not with Mumm-Ra back. Lion-O needs us, and the Order needs him. That's just how it is right now."

Cheetara's eyes turned to look at the prince again. She seemed hopeful that they wouldn't really have to go to Valern and the Order. The Cleric sighed as she realized it was for Lion-O's own good.

Pumyra looked between her and the lion. "So," she said, "you and him, huh?"

Cheetara turned to glare at the puma. "Yes, what of it?"

Pumyra raised her hands in defense. "Hey," she said, "it's none of my business. Though just as a heads up, my father may not be too happy about it."

Cheetara seemed indifferent. "Well then," she said, "if you father does have any objections, I can tell him right where he can shove them."

Pumyra suddenly barked in laughter as a smirk grew on Panthro's face. He was starting to like this cheetah.

He watched her walk to Lion-O. "So," he turned to Pumyra, "this stronghold, does it have a name?"

The puma shrugged. "My father has a flair for dramatics," she said. "He's been calling it the 'Cats Lair'."

* * *

Lion-O leaned on the tree, seeing the sun set over the tree line. Many thoughts had been plaguing him since they left Thundera behind. The prince's life flashed before his eyes, from his time in the Ring to his experiences in the palace. So far, it all came back to one certain cheetah.

"Lion-O?" He turned to see Cheetara approaching, her eyes full of worry. "Is something wrong?"

Lion-O sighed. "It's just…" Lion-O didn't know what to say for a while. "Things are different now, and not in a good way."

Cheetara looked down. He knew Jaga's death still haunted her. "But it doesn't have to be like that forever," she said hopefully. "We have the Sword of Omens, Lion-O, and we have you. Claudus and Mumm-Ra won't stand a chance once we find the Book of Omens."

Lion-O shared her hope that the legendary tome would have some way to fight both threats, but he still had some doubts. "Listen, Cheetara," he said, "I was looking at the map and I noticed that there is a village not too far from here."

Her eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave," Lion-O said. "You can simply write down whatever knowledge Jaga gave you and drop you off there."

Cheetara grabbed his hands and laced her fingers with his, a determined look on her face. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Lion-O," she said with a slight grin. "Listen, wherever this new path takes us, I will be right there beside you. That's because I love you, and I believe in you."

That was when she put everything on the line. Those three words showed the prince that she was in this until the very end. Even if they were to fail in this quest, she would never even consider leaving his side.

"I love you too, Cheetara," Lion-O said. "I just hope that you won't regret—"

She silenced all his doubts when the cheetah pressed her lips against the lion's. They could have sworn that they heard WilyKat's exaggerated gagging and WilyKit's sighing at the loving sight. They eventually broke away from their kiss, and Lion-O could see the faith that she had for him.

They walked hand-in-hand back to the ThunderTank, towards whatever the future had in store for them.

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

In the heart of the Black Pyramid, General Slithe, War Chief of all Lizard Clans, stood before his master. Surrounding him were statues depicting the Ancient Spirits of Evil, the strange gods that his lord faithfully worshiped. Standing at the top of the steps, in front of the red-eyed face that served as his sarcophagus, the War Chief's master had his back turned to him.

"Lord Mumm-Ra," Slithe addressed the red-cloaked figure, "Grune's death was a great blow to our plans, and we know nothing of Prince Lion-O's whereabouts. Our plans have begun to unravel by the seams."

A raspy chuckle emanated from the cloaked figure. "You must have patience, General Slithe," Mumm-Ra said. The ancient enemy of Thundera and Third Earth turned to the War Chief. Beneath the red cloak were bandages that covered the withered flesh of this old evil, the hood did nothing to hide the blood red eyes that shone with greed and a hunger for power.

"But, My Lord," Slithe said, "what are we to do?"

Mumm-Ra's hands rubbed together in anticipation. "We shall only watch and wait, General," his raspy voice said cheerfully. "I have a feeling that this _new_ Lord of the ThunderCats will seek out the Book of Omens. When he finally does find it, not only will I have the book, but the War Stone as well." An evil smile grew from his cracked lips. "Once I have them both, then nothing will stand in my way as I take back what is rightfully _mine_."

_**To be continued in…**_

_**ThunderCats: War of Kings**_


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